Horse Tales
by Kaeru Shisho
Summary: A few lucky stallion purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.    Warning:  Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension.
1. Chapter 1

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky stallion purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: In defense of my writing this extreme version of a GW story… Waterlily and Snowdragon made me do it, heh, heh…

**Chapter One—Two's Company**

"Just call me Howard," I told the officer.

"Er, yes, sir. Ah, as I was saying, he'd be perfect for a mounted police horse, but we're over-stocked already," the man explained. "We called around and heard about your place."

Not that the "ranch" was mine, but I represented the interests of the consortium of doctors, both medical and research doctors, who provided the financial backing

"We house wild mustangs on rangeland," I told my caller. "More of a hobby than anything." But knowing I could use a good mount of my own, my interest grew. "Tell me more about this horse."

"Fine animal with excellent breeding. From the Darlian stable."

"Oh." That place had burned to the ground recently. Shame; it had had a good rep.

"Oh, ho, ho… his name is Heero, spelled H-I-R-O in this news article and… H-E-E-R-O in this one, so take your pick. Apparently, he's trained in _dressage_-"

"We have a small stable designed to house sick animals, but it could be enlarged, I suppose." I imagined a stable with multiple stalls, dedicated bathing and grooming area, tack room- "One good riding horse would be useful. All right. _Bring him in, officer_."

Heh, heh… I'd always wanted to say that.

_Horse Haven Sanc-tuary_ gave the wild Mustangs of the Sanc kingdom a second chance. The doctors had pooled their plentiful resources to purchase the land and establish their tax-deductable, home for the horses.

The animals were a mixed lot, generations removed from the mounts of a long-gone native people. The fine rangeland provided ideal conditions for the animals to thrive, for awhile. They roamed the rolling hills, over grazing and competing successfully with the native deer and insurgent cattle. When their numbers grew too great, Sanc and its neighboring kingdoms came together, rounding up and re-distributing the excess animals from one over-used area to previously un-grazed land. This was considered the most humane way to solve the abundance problem, as long as there were generous people to take the wild animals, otherwise the horses stood to be destroyed.

Here at Horse Haven they were lovely to see, when I could get a glimpse of them.

They called me to head up the program and live on the premises. Wide open spaces and state of the art facilities built to my specifications? Sure, I took the job. Never let it be said that Howard was too stupid not to see a great deal when he found one.

I'd run the Peacecraft stables for over 20 years. It was time to retire to the country, heh, heh. I tossed the formal wear and donned sunglasses and Hawaiian shirts, only adding jackets to conform to the weather conditions. I was a lucky man. Doing what I loved in pastoral peace and beauty gave me a reason to rise with the sun each and every day.

I notified the doctors of my plans.

Actually, the doctors were terribly excited to enlarge their venture.

"Possibly breed race horses!" Doctor J suggested when I told him Heero was a thoroughbred.

"All the Darlian stable papers on him were destroyed in the fire, so we don't know any particulars," I warned the man. "There were pictures from the papers of the Darlian girl exhibiting him in a show for a dressage event."

"We could breed the finest show horses!"

Not my specialty, but that was no time to get into the finer details. I was looking forward to preparing for this fine, new horse named "Heero."

The next afternoon, I had a crew out tearing down the ramshackle stable and pouring concrete for our new ten-horse stable with modern conveniences. Ten- just to be on the safe side should future horses come our way. I had plans for a state of the art attached barn and arena—the largest in the Sanc kingdom.

I got on the phone and hired a groom and stable crew. There was plenty of money to throw at this venture.

As soon as the stable was ready, I attached a nameplate above the first stall door, and Heero arrived later that week. Getting him out of the horse trailer, I could tell he was a serious animal; quick to obey, and ever alert. He gleamed in a lovely reddish shade often referred to as blood bay with dark tail, mane and legs. No blaze or stockings. No white at all.

Awesome animal.

Joining me to greet the new horse was Doctor J. He was a quirky man, an engineer, who took to Heero immediately.

"I've become an expert in the field of Thoroughbreds. The Thoroughbred is deep through the heart not only in conformation but in fighting spirit and the love of running and competing is inherent in the breed's nature."

"I was told he's trained in dressage."

"A show horse? A waste of this fine animal. Of course, a Thoroughbred horse is so well conformed and the heart and intelligence so much present that this breed excels in any wide number of disciplines. The stamina, courage and speed of the Thoroughbred horse is well-known and highly prized the world over. Couple these traits with the beauty and grace of the blood horse, add high intelligence, and it is no wonder Thoroughbred horses are called thorough-bred!"

"Lucky for us Heero's ours."

"Hmmm, pity there's just the one. He's a stallion and there can be complications when stallions are kept in confined in the unnatural conditions of isolation."

"I can't very well let him roam with the wild horses," I said.

"No, but you see isolation tends to produce psychological aberrations in the stallion, with an associated reduction in the degree to which behavior can be predicted. To the degree that other horses, animals, or people may be wrongly perceived as a threat, with the result being that they are driven forcibly from the area – through or over gates and fences if necessary."

"We can't have that," I agreed, regretting already my decision to accept the free horse. That old saying came to mind, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth?" How about the pocketbook?

I would need to get him a companion soon, and that one probably would cost an arm and a leg—and a hoof.

(o) **Heero POV**

I smelt grass and wild lands, which was exciting. My attention strayed, following the pungent summer herbs of pastureland. And then I was introduced to two strangers, Howard and Doctor J.

I learned names quickly. The one wasn't entirely human, wearing artificial eyes and an arm lacking warmth and flesh. I stood my ground, though, and showed no fear as it caressed my neck, and the mechanical fingers gave a good scratch.

Both masters were kind from the start, for which I was grateful. I looked around for some sign of the little lady, Relena, but she wasn't here. Most likely I hadn't followed her to her new home.

I missed her familiar, gentle touch.

After a half hour run in the outdoor arena, I felt better, stretching my legs after the long ride in the trailer. A roll on the small grassy patch and long refreshing drink- yes, this new place was acceptable.

I took the carrot offering even though it wasn't necessary to coax me into my stall. I was curious about where I'd be staying. I wanted to examine it.

The floors were hard cement. Easy to clean and not flammable, but not as soft as the dirt floors of my old home. Clean bedding and lots of it. I would be indulged. Fresh water was plentiful and good for putting out errant flames. Howard scooped grain from a huge metal container and poured it into a trough for me. I didn't think rodents could bite through the metal, which meant fewer of those.

I didn't like the pests. My lady had had cats, always cats underfoot, to chase them away. Cats were annoying, but they learned to move fast after a warning kick. I saw no cats here. Or other horses. I was alone.

The last few weeks, since … I'd been taken from my lady's home… I'd been stabled with the police horses. Very fine animals. I'd expected and hoped to join them.

But here I was. Alone.

Safe. Clean. Scrupulously clean. Nice-voiced masters. I could rest well here. Alone.

I required very little sleep; no horse does. I wasn't much for drowsing away my time, either, which meant I had many hours to whittle away. I looked for exposed or protruding screws, nails or bolts, and found none.

Attached just outside my door hung a fire extinguisher within easy reach for a human. I would search for others when given the chance. It was important that all safety precautions were taken.

My new stall opened at both ends, the inner door into a cavernous barn. It smelled of fresh wood and didn't look used. Tools and equipment picked up and stored properly from what I could tell. Everything added up to my new home being a safe environment and demonstrated the stable manager's concern for details.

My other door was split with a window on top, which had been left wide open. I enjoyed the summer breeze and as the sun fell, the evening crickets. Many new sounds, but my ears ached for those familiar ones that meant I was home.

I always slept standing, ready to run. It had saved my life once.

(o) **Howard POV**

The second horse came after a frantic call from the Maxwell Church, telling me that a young stallion's caretaker could no longer afford his room and board and had given him to the church. One tough little stallion waiting for a new home, or so went the story.

"We adore him; he's very friendly and has pluck, but we must find a real home for him. Can you help us?"

I explained to Sister Helen how the doctors already had a herd of worthless horseflesh on the dole, and that we didn't really need more.

"He was used for pony rides for children and is very sweet-tempered."

I had interpreted the horse's situation as neglected after the owner had "passed" from injuries in a drunken brawl leaving his horse to fend to itself.

"Let me guess, he's always been in city stables and is now half-starved? He'd never get accustomed to the wide open spaces," I countered.

But she was an expert. "We found papers on the horse saying he's a purebred Morgan. Quite the beauty and young. Name of Max, I think, but that may have been the other one that just died."

How did she know I was a sucker for all black or white horses? "Bring our little blessing on in then," I caved.

When he showed up, he didn't look like a Max. "Mess" was a better name. Professor G, the creative genius, named him "Duo" because with Heero we had two horses.

Duo turned out to be a black chestnut purebred Morgan stallion, the darkest shade of chestnut- so dark it could be mistaken for black, with an unbelievably long and tangled mane, and a star, no… more of a crescent shape, a scythe to be precise, between his eyes.

He may have been a purebred, but Duo was a dirty and neglected one. He had trouble exiting the trailer; I doubted if he'd ever been outside of a city stable, if he'd been on the pony-ride circuit. Flies clustered around his eyes and ears, and he looked as if he'd like to run away from us, looking for refuge from the heat and bugs and possibly cruel humans. He was also a stallion. It was uncommon to use stallions for kiddie rides; they weren't to be trusted, I'd heard.

"He's pitifully thin, with protruding ribs." Professor G patted his neck.

"But his coat is still good and his muscles show no wasting. Poor thing."

He seemed to be rooted in place, shifting his weight as if to move but unable to lift his feet. His hooves needed immediate attention. "Couple weeks without care at least. I'll get the farrier here and put him on the payroll."

We walked him slowly around to the back of the barn. "I'm putting him in this last stall, far from Heero, just in case he's carrying some bug."

Duo took one painful step toward the stall, tottered a moment then sighed and dropped his head again, his muzzle almost touching the ground.

"We'll fix you up all proper in the morning, boy, I promise. Now, I got you a good dinner inside—"

He rolled his large eyes, gave me a good-natured snort, and then stepped inside his stall.

"Smart horse."

"Young and I'll bet there's a luxurious tail and mane under all that dirt and snarled mess. Heart of gold."

(o) **Heero POV**

I heard the truck pull up and the sound of a horse trailer ramp being lowered. Whoever the newcomer was, it hadn't taken much cajoling to get him out. _Him._ I could smell "male" and sickness.

I stretched my neck out the open window of my stall as far as possible in order to get a glimpse of him. It was summer and warm and the masters left the upper portion of the split doors open at night. At first, I saw no one.

I could hear Howard's voice. They were coming around the stables at the far end away from me. I couldn't make out anything except that he was a very dark color. Then he stumbled. Not for long. He got his feet back under him and trailed Howard into the last stall.

I wished he'd come closer so I could see him, but then I didn't want a sick animal near me either. Best keep him and his infestations far away.

Then it was quiet. It was as if I was alone again. But then I heard Howard's voice, crooning to the new horse. Apparently, the man was spending the night by his side. I felt lucky to have such an astute owner, because, just like sick people, horses feel worse at night.

(o) **Duo POV**

My dreadlock mane and my tail braided into a rope dragging on the ground had to have been a groomer's nightmare, but I hardly had the strength to care anymore. I didn't feel like the scrappy, tough, tireless horse I'd once been. The man called Howard and a woman, a vet, I think, treated the open sores and checked my temperature and pulse. I wasn't sick. I knew that. I was starving and my feet hurt and I had a few other complaints, but I didn't feel ill.

I think they understood and knew what they were doing; though, I wasn't in a condition to question their judgment. That first night I was treated for injuries, fed lightly, put into a stall.

I felt worse as the night wore on. Every sore stung and my overgrown hooves bugged me, especially the one missing a shoe, so I knelt onto the soft straw. Tons of it. I even nibbled on some and thought about how lucky I was to be alive and cared for. I didn't think about much else.

I must have dozed off, because I opened my eyes to see Howard sitting beside me, murmuring sweet nothings and changing the bandage on my neck. That felt nice. He was nice and smelled good. I breathed a sigh of relief and licked his hair, my way of saying thanks.

(o) **Heero POV**

I awoke to men's voices, but not nearby. They were tending to the new horse. Good. I wanted nothing to do with a sick animal.

A stableboy visited me and I was fed and let out into the fenced yard. I loved the freedom and soft dirt under foot. I ran and ran and ran.

I couldn't run so far as to escape the sound of humans. They were building something very large which would connect to the barn. The stalls opened into the barn on one side; this would be on the other. Whatever it was.

Later, a handler saddled and rode me in the arena, testing my training, I guessed. He and I didn't communicate well. My lady Relena had trained me with her own cues; now I'd need to relearn. I would do that, since humans insisted on doing things their way.

At the end of our session in the hot sun came my favorite activity: water spray. Cooling, refreshing, and the water chased off the flies. I'd stand in the graveled spot and shake my mane and tail while chilly water rinsed me.

In the heat of the day, I was used to resting and grazing where I'd lived before, at my old home. Here, the pastureland was fenced off; I could see it, but no one let me out. Instead, I was led to my stall and fed a controlled diet. I found this alternative acceptable.

I appreciated the shade and awaited the cooler evening and a visit from one of my owners. With nothing else to do but think, I wondered how the other horse was doing. I hadn't heard a snort from him. Maybe he hadn't made it.

That made me feel sad and I'd realized how much I'd been looking forward to having a stable mate.

Nevertheless, I had actually forgotten all about the other horse until late in the morning of the next day; I saw him. I also saw a familiar human, the blacksmith from the Darling stables!

I called to the human from my stall window. My hooves needed attention, too! The farrier stood and waved, saying something to me, and then moved on to the next foot of the new horse.

That other stallion needed him more at the moment. His hooves looked painfully overgrown and uneven. One shoe was missing. Plaster patches dotted his legs and neck, covering sores. His mane, if that's what it was, hung in ropes to his knees and his tail reached the ground in the ugliest braided knot I'd ever seen. He was almost black in color, except for a white splotch between his eyes.

Those eyes rolled my way, skimmed past mine, and then closed. I imagined he felt as miserable as he looked. Undernourished and unwell.

I felt for him. I'd never been in that condition myself, but I'd heard stories.

His spirit hadn't been broken, though. As Howard held his head, scratching his ears, distracting him with attention, the farrier went to work. The newcomer had the most amazing, dexterous lips. He carefully snuck apple slices and carrot chunks from Howard's pocket. The little thief! Some of those were mine!

(0) **Duo POV  
**

The next day started new treatments, which I dreaded on principle. I recognized blacksmithing tools instantly, and getting my hooves trimmed was going to be pure torture. And combing out my tail, ugh, they'd probably cut it off.

Still, I was determined to prove my worth and gratitude by not kicking the shit out of the humans. I knew they meant well, but the entire process was going to take forever and involve some degree of pain—I just knew it.

I discovered the one called Howard carried food treats in a pocket and helped myself. It would help pass the time.

Then the blacksmith started a swell leg massage, and I'll tell you that was sweet. Taking time out to get some endorphins going was nice and I rewarded the man by cooperating fully.

There was another horse, a fellow stallion, who watched the fussing about. I'm sure I musta been poor entertainment, 'cause he kept to his stall instead of coming over to say hi.

I heard him nicker, but it wasn't at me. The farrier, of all people, stood and waved at him. Old pals, I guessed, which was good news. Most horses don't like the humans that bother with their hooves.

Fitted out with new shoes, I could walk right and felt a whole lot better. Things were looking up. Next, I hoped for a bath, but I was led back into my stall, where another full meal awaited me.

Okay, I could go for that.

Alfalfa hay was more palatable than grass hays, and I hadn't tasted the green stuff since I couldn't remember when. They let me eat as much meadow hay as I wanted. Aside from keeping me entertained, the bulk aided my digestion.

I may have inhaled the food, but I was a connoisseur. And I could tell I'd hit pay dirt this time. I made out whole oats and mixtures of rolled grains and molasses, applesauce, and salt. Really amazing.

All horses have small stomachs for their size and need to eat little and often. Mine was shrunk up so I couldn't eat all I wanted, and the humans had thought of that and not given me all that much, but it tasted so good.

In a field, horses could graze for most of the day, or so I'd heard from Solo's tales. I'd never had that luxury, having been a city horse, but I dreamed of eating my way through a landscape.

I drank my fill of water, which tasted a bit chemically, but because I was sure it was just medicine, I didn't care.

I ate, lay down, and just about said a word to my old pal, Solo. I knew he wasn't there; I'd watched him die of some sickness a few days earlier, but I missed his company and felt very, very alone. Between the medicines and the full stomach and my general weakness, I dozed off and slept restlessly for the rest of the day. I hurt here and there and twitches kept waking me up.

Once when I awoke, my stall was shrouded in shadows, and I wasn't sure where I was. Then I heard a familiar voice, and I was so happy to see that kind-hearted Howard man. He stayed with me to watch for signs of illness, was my guess, and tended my sores. The company was super and I think he gave me a shot of something to knock me out 'cause I did sleep.

I hadn't always been such a wuss, but neglect catches up to a horse.

The next day I woke up to the sound of Howard's cheerful greeting and the smell of more, fresh food dropping inches from my nose. It didn't hurt when I stood up, so I nuzzled his face and gave the human a kiss. Hey, I was full of tricks. Kids loved me. And it got me an entire apple, heh, heh!

He left me to my breakfast and I listened to his footfalls. Possibly, he was visiting that other horse, a slick-looking chestnut with a black forelock, if I recalled correctly. I'd only had a peek at him.

I was just enjoying a good chew of the green stuff, when a cheerful human greeted me and a hand appeared, flipped the metal bar up and to the side—I watched how the locking mechanism worked—and my stall door swung open.

By his perfumey scent, I guessed this was the groom and it was bath time. I was so right! And it was private. There is nothing like a full body massage, fingers working out the knots, brushes scratching those hard to get to itches.

The hair, on the other hand, was a whole new hell.

He started by running a dose of tangle-remover through my mane with his fingers. This made the hairs slicker, thereby allowing him to undo the tangles by hand. No nasty scissors. It took forever and used up gallons of that smelly, slippery gunk, but I had nothing else to do.

The groomer groaned and complained with he got to my tail. I was real proud of my tail. At its best mine was the longest, fullest tail ever. Got flies? Not with my tail!

When he'd finished, the groom led me out of the barn into a dry, gravelly fenced in yard that my stall opened into. The out-of-doors at last!

Hot sun soaked into my back. The dry wind carried the smell of green grass and unidentifiable wild things. I closed my eyes, imaging the familiar city sounds and smells, but they were really far, far away, and, instead, I heard the pounding of wood and grating of metal I associated with humans I couldn't see.

Stallion smell wafted my way.

My eyes flew open, and Howard was there, standing on a ladder pounding hunks of wood over one of the stalls, not the one I'd come from. In the arena, also watching Howard, was the brown stallion.

Talk about hot! I was a softy for a dark tail and mane, too. He just oozed alpha male hormones and confidence.

A breeze caught my loose hair and blew it dry. It blew it everywhere and felt fabulous. I looked fabulous, and the other horse was staring at me.

Howard was joined by Professor G, a peculiar looking man with a bad haircut and a carroty nose—not edible. They both lavished me with praise, a little smothering, but I wasn't above showing off my "kiss" trick to get more. Another human, odder than either of the others ,and who they called Doctor J, led the handsome stallion over to meet me. Introductions went fine. His name was Heero and mine, I was reminded, was Duo.

Max, Duo- it hardly mattered what humans wanted to call me as long as they stuck to one name.

"You smell like Cowboy Magic Horse Hair Detangler and Conditioner." That's how Heero greeted me.

"Magic Horse-? Ooooooh." I snorted hard enough to blow his forelock out of his eyes. Nice and messy hair.

He stomped his foot. "Stop that. I'm number one. You're number two."

"Say what, numero uno?"

"Look over the doors."

"At what?"

"Your name. Can't you read?"

I was a horse, for cripes sake. "No. I suppose _you_ can."

"Yes, I can. Above our names are our numbers. I'm '01' and you are '02'."

"Well, I'll say those are the stall numbers, since there's more over the rest of them and I don't see 'ranked' horses in them."

My being right annoyed the stallion. He stomped a foot. I stomped back. I wasn't anybody's number two. Jeez.

"Now, be friends," I assumed Howard was saying, or some such nonsense I couldn't understand. Offering us treats made perfect sense, which was what he did next.

Heero took the offered carrot and I nabbed the apple and a carrot. If Heero wasn't quick enough I'd eat it all. When I did, Professor G laughed. While the two men talked about us, probably, I moved closer to my stable buddy.

"Hey."

"What do you want? I have no treats hiding over here for you to steal."

"Just thinking I could do you a bit of a favor."

"How? Hey, you swatted me with your tail!"

"Impressive, isn't it? I can clear flies off us both as long as these humans don't get it into their heads to mess with it and braid it up."

"It is useful in summer," Heero conceded. "I wouldn't want a tail like that, though, when the mud comes."

"Well, you're right about that!"

We stood thinking our own thoughts, enjoying the hot sun baking our backs until Howard led us to the stalls again to point out my name over the door and something on the floor.

New stall floors!

"He has installed LIGHTWEIGHT INTERLOCKING STALL MATS," Heero said, as he actually reading that off of some paper. I'd never know a horse that could read.

While he stood there staring, the stable boy dumped piles of fresh straw over the floor for the bedding.

"Rubber matting provides traction and cushioning on concrete or asphalt," Heero informed me.

I stepped into my new digs, the ones right next door to the "01" stud, and it felt cushy. "Holy cow!" Somehow I had hit the jackpot this time. Cool.

And that's where we wiled away the hot afternoon, just a couple of hot studs chillin'.

Horse Notes:

Thoroughbreds are classified among the "hot-blooded" breeds, which are animals bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited and bold. The breed originated from crosses between imported Turkish and Arabian horses and existing English lines and has since been exported around the world as the fastest of all horses. They are also bred for other riding disciplines, such as show jumping, combined training, dressage, polo, and fox hunting. Its temperament is racy and nervous. The breed has a leggy appearance, and may be any color but usually have white markings.

Morgan Horses are distinctive, with well-muscled bodies and dense bones, luxurious manes and tails, large eyes, quick intelligence, and kind natures. They're often considered to have a heart of gold, be easy to train, level headed, fun to ride, and have a great work ethic. The Morgan Horse is the first documented American breed; a little horse that can out-run and out-haul most challengers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Without the editing and encouragement from Waterlily and Snowdragon this would be unreadable gibberish

**Chapter Two—Three's a Crowd**

**(o) Duo POV**

It was amazing all that grass, food for as far as a horse could see.

I'd watched my stable mate's muscles rippling in the sunshine and the longest legs I'd ever seen carrying his rider, Doctor J, about through the grass without me. He looked happy and I wanted to be there, too.

I couldn't contain my envy, letting go with a whinny of frustration so loud he heard and answered back a short, "Ha!"

I was tired of being treated like an invalid, confined to the little corral, going around and around. I was fine! I was nearly back to one hundred percent.

Stomping my hooves and snorting and calling more did the trick. Howard came to my rescue. He opened the gate to the pasture to let me walk through—at last.

Five step and I was free as a bird. No saddle. No rider. Just me and the sun and wind and endless eats!

I took off running around in the sun, heh, heh…

When I heard a neigh calling me, I noticed Heero again standing rider-less. The humans clustered along the fence to watch us, more than I knew. Who could care about them when I felt so good and had a new playmate?

I nipped at Heero's ass until he chased me. Oh, I didn't do him any harm, but he was so vain about getting a mark.

"Did you cut me? I see blood! You drew blood! I could scar!"

I'd just laugh my horsey laugh and then he'd get mad and take off after me.

Now, I knew he was fast. I'd watched him out in the far pasture with a rider. Wings. He flew as if he had wings he was that fast and light on his feet. I wasn't a plow horse, but I knew I couldn't outrun him, if he was trying, so I had to be quick and outmaneuver him.

When I did that he'd get frustrated and kick. It was better'n being bored. We were still pals no matter what.

There was a cluster of trees where we'd end up in the shade, side by side. Sometimes I'd rest my neck over his, my mane feathered out over his back. He didn't say anything, but I know he loved my mane doing that.

His mane was such a mess. I'd observed the groom working so hard to get all the hair pulled to one side. He'd glue it down with something smelly or braid it into stupid-looking little bundles along his neck, and for that one day it would be perfect, even, and to the one side. Once we'd had a run outside, it would flip-flop, parting this way and that from the top of his head to his shoulders.

Rakishly handsome for such a proper horse.

I was admiring his contours when he let out a whinny. Never one to over-talk a situation, that meant he was disturbed.

"What'sup?"

I turned my head to get a look at what distant object attracted him, thinking coyote or snake or mountain lion, animals he'd warned me about but I'd never seen.

"I'm taking a closer look," he said as warning before taking off like lightening.

I trotted down from the pasture rise at a more leisurely pace, into the corral, or _arena_, as Heero called it.

"What kind of trailer is that?" It was large and painted with wild pictures in brilliant colors.

"Barton and Bloom Circus," Heero read.

"Circus?" I'd heard the word but it never meant squat to me. I concentrated on the colors until I could pick out pictures of people, I think, weird looking people, and animals, including a horse. So, a circus made use of horses.

"Human leisure attraction," Heero explained.

"Oh—" Before I could make my brilliant and astute observation known, though, he had me squeezed up against the farthermost side of the farthermost fence as far from the action as possible. "Hey, buddy!"

He butted and pushed some more.

"Hey! Cut it out! If you push any harder I'll have to pass through the fence."

He paid me no heed. His attention was fully on the new horse being backed down the ramp to the ground.

"Lemme see!"

Squish, squish.

At which point it occurred to me that he'd herded me like a mare. Time to assert my own stallion will on him! I pushed and shoved and nipped so he jumped back, giving me the break I needed. I lunged forward, covered the width of the corral in a few strides, and charged into the fence.

"Hi!" I called out to the newcomer.

There came a shout from Howard.

Party pooper.

**(o) Howard POV**

The third call had really surprised me. The circus was downsizing and their dozens of showy Appaloosas had been sold at auction, except the last, least trained one.

I didn't even bother to listen to the why; they wouldn't have told me the truth anyway. I'd have to see him for myself to tell if he were lame or mean or just plain stupid. Coming from the circus he'd at least be attractive and that is why I told them to drive him up.

"Send in the clowns!" I said. It was a joke.

The handlers from the circus had a hard time getting get him down the ramp and out of trailer, which told me he hadn't been trained well or with much patience or kindness.

His ears flattened to his head and I could see the white of one eye, the other completely covered by a shaggy forelock of caramel-colored hair.

Duo whinnied from the stable runaround, demanding to be let out and see the male whose scent had been carried along by the wind. I could see Heero like a shadow at his back and Duo pushing into the fence.

"Duo, no!"

He backed off in a huff, but in the meantime, the circus folks took off leaving me with the angry horse, called Triton. Happily, the new horse seemed amused by Duo's dancing about and relaxed now that his circus trainer had gone.

It was, in fact, like magic. With the handler gone, he calmed down. Now he was quiet and very shy.

I gave him a good look over. Very attractive spotted appaloosa with an unusual chestnut strawberry roan coloring. Aside from the long forelock, the rest of his mane was neatly braided into a row of "knobs" banded in bright green with fluffy tufts.

My silent horse tensed when Doctor S joined us. Maybe it was the prosthetic nose that concerned the animal? The man was a ballistic weapon engineer, turned wild horse philanthropist, like the others.

"What's bothering Duo?" he asked

"Him? Nothing, just curious about this newcomer. He's a bit on the mischievous side, that little Morgan. Did you know he's figured out the latches on the stalls? Lets himself and Heero out in the morning! Well, now, I'm sure you're here to hear about our circus discard?"

"Beautiful coloring."

"According to the file they left with me, Triton here is full of tricks, skilled ones." I couldn't wait to try them out. "I'll just get these noisy bells off his tail—"

"And the crazy hair ties."

The Doc wasn't a fussy man when it came to embellishments, but he had a soft spot for spots. Har, har…

"Yes, those, too, but I'll let the groom tend to them."

As I'd hoped, Doctor S took a shine to him. Patting his neck and offering a handful of apple slices helped distract the horse while I removed the bells. Triton took a tentative bite from one then stood back to chew and look around.

"Triton?" Doctor S snorted pretty much like a horse. "Nonsense! Trowa is your name. Far more manly. He's not a giant fork!"

He must have been thinking of a _trident_. Apparently, Trowa wasn't a horse either. He could move like smoke. He'd joined Duo and Heero on the other side of the fence when our backs were turned. I considered replacing those bells just to keep track of him.

And then adding to my consternation, Duo started making such a racket I had second thoughts about disturbing his and Heero's odd friendship. It occurred to me putting so many stallions together might not be wise.

**(o) Duo POV**

"It's a polka-dotted horse! Orange and white spots!"

"Shut up, Duo!"

"I'll bet you've never seen a spotted horse either! In all my life… wow he's amazing!

"Don't make personal remarks."

"Well, you're just no fun. Here he comes! Hey, gorgeous! You gonna to live here?"

"I think so."

"Super!" I could not get over his spots. "You look like one of those carousel horses, you know, the ones on merry-go-rounds," I told the newbie. "In a good way, I mean. All dolled up."

"Duo, shut the grass-chute up." Heero never minced words, but he had no reason to get crude or bossy.

"It's all right," Spot said. "Humans have weird taste when it comes to entertainment."

I waited a moment to let the new horse clarify a bit of what he meant, but, instead, he just gazed all around and drawled, "Nice place."

"Grrr-eat place," I assured him, totally ignoring Heero's warning snorts. "Endless food, top of the line housing and staff, and not a speck of work to do. Paradise."

Spot nodded. "Sounds perfect to me. I've had enough of demanding work."

"I'm Duo, by the way. And this is Heero."

"Tri—no, I'm Trowa now."

"Number three," Heero told him.

"He means your stall number. Don't pay him no never mind. I was… well, how about that? I can't remember what my name was before I came here. Oh, well, I'm Duo now."

"He's number two. _I'm_ number one. Heero. I always have been. Welcome, Trowa."

They made a big deal of touching noses. So formal.

"Bet you're tired of the trailer, huh?" I asked him. "I don't remember much of my ride, but it might feel good to stretch your legs?"

"A run sounds good. Water, too."

"Gotcha. C'mon, 'Ro, show'im your stuff."

"What _stuff_ do you mean?"

Snort. "How you're a runner? And where the trough is. C'mon, show'im your cute ass."

"Duo!"

"When you're the fastest, that's the view the rest us of get, heh, heh."

I leaned in to give him a nip on said ass and he tried to kick me in the head. Good thing I was quick witted enough to move.

Spot trotted just out of my reach. "Lead on," he said to Heero.

I thought he was rather graciously letting 'Ro be the leader. And away we raced around the pasture, stopping for a visit at the watering hole, and then again for a dash-about, taking turns at chasing tails. I learned Spot was super sure-footed and that he could out-maneuver me with some tricky hop steps.

"Not fair! My tail's the longest. I gotta get a whole body length out in front to avoid you."

"Not my fault." Spot wouldn't give ground. Stubborn as Heero that way.

He was fully ready to enjoy the advantages and un-matched performance of my fly-swatting tail, though, and I became the dark meat in a polka-dot-n-bay sandwich.

So we stood and sunned ourselves, facing into the breeze, Spot making happy nickering noises.

"It's so much quieter than the circus. No zoo penned nearby. No crowds."

"Nope."

The flies buzzed. Yep, Spot seemed a decent sort.

Grasses swished shhhhhhhhhhh.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Spot tossed his head and reared up on his hind legs. "For cryin' out loud! Geez Loooeeeze!"

Heero went to full alert status, legs apart, nostrils flaring, and demanding, "What is it? Do you smell danger?"

"Other horses."

"Where?" I couldn't see a thing or smell them, but then I had two stallions on either side of me, stinking up the place.

"Over the hill. Far away."

This he said in a dreamy, soft voice. I was afraid our newest bro was a bit daft. Too much larking about in the circus. It was a sad thing to happen to such a hot-spotted stud like him.

I kept my eyes on the horizon, just in case a herd of ponies appeared. I'd seen what looked like shimmering pools of water one minute, which turned out to be just rock and bare ground later. Why not wild horses?

Because, I reminded myself, shaking the sense back into my head, I wasn't going to let myself go nuts, too. The stables needed one cool-headed, right-thinker with solid horse-sense, and I could see how it was me who'd be tasked with that burden. I was tough enough to shoulder the responsibility and not stumble under the onerous weight or complain. Well, I might grumble, but not much.

"Maybe we oughta get outta the sun," I suggested.

Heero agreed. And for an instant I thought he was thinking along my lines, but then he noted. "Howard's whistling for us."

So he was.

We lumbered back to the stable, dragging our feet like old men. Not that I wasn't eager for our routine hose down. Not that I wasn't looking forward to a good meal inside. But for a little bit there I was thinking maybe there were other horses running free in the tall grass and just how exciting it would be to find them. But that was just _my_ thinking. My other two stable mates were just lazy bums.

The stable grunt kid came out and turned the hose on Heero first. He adored the water spray. I liked it too but that bossy stallion would have monopolized it all day if the humans would have let him.

I took my turn, turning around on cue so the human wouldn't have to move. I had great people skills, or so I'd thought, but I had nothing on Spot when it came to show-off displays and tricks. I should have been prepared for something; after all, out in the field he'd done the rearing up thing to which he'd added a hop and twirl, now that I replayed the scene in my head. Not at all necessary and enormously flashy.

When the boy stood ready with the hose, circus-horse crouched down on one knee!

"What the hell are you doing?" I had to ask.

"Bowing."

"B-?" I clammed up when I saw the humans react to him.

Howard made a big deal over it, forcing handfuls of apple slices on him, murmuring sweet nothings…

I stole off to my stall on my own, noting that Howard had tacked up some more wood over the "03" stall, which was probably Spot's name. Yep. 'Ro on one side and Spot on my other. "Duke Due Diligence" on one side and "Lord Flaunt it All" on the other. Weren't there any other normal horses? Was I to be the lone ranger, the keeper of the standard, the average run-of-the-mill horse out here?

Yes. Yes, Duo, ole boy, you were. Someone had to watch out for the other two. And that someone was me.

(o)

The next morning looked to be a good one. Bright sunny day, breeze pushing the grass around in waves…

"Rise and shine!" I called to Heero.

"I _am_ up. I never sleep. You _know_ that!"

"And a good morning to you, too, sweetheart." I unlocked Heero's stall and proceeded to open Spot's with a cheery "Hi!"

Heero nosed the door open and strode outside into the exercise ring. "It's barely dawn, Duo. And about to rain."

"That's why we're going out now, before it gets nasty."

"Bit sensitive to the elements, aren't you?" came the soft-toned voice of the newcomer.

"I'm a city colt. And if you had a tail as long as mine, you'd think twice before letting it drag about in the mud, too."

"That's fair." Spot trotted to the fence where he could stare out across the rolling hills and pastureland. "The wild horses live out there," he observed. "When the wind blows this way I smell them and hear them."

So, to humor the poor clown, we took turns calling to them, but they never answered.

He believed in them, though. "Must be nice, being free like that."

"It could be." I'd give him that much, but I wasn't so sure. I liked my creature comforts, now that I had some, and didn't cherish the thought of giving them up any time soon. "Mebbe."

Next thing I knew, Spot had a head over the fence chewing and letting out satisfied little sighs.

"Hey! Whatcher find there to eat? Flowers?"

"Roses. Sweet and insubstantial," Heero said.

I turned to glare at Heero. "You can _eat_ those? You never told me those were edible and you _know _I like treats!"

"Delicacies, but a properly trained horse never despoils the Lady's garden."

"Lady's garden…? You are so full of it. Move over. Lemme taste some of those."

I took a mouthful of pink froth and chewed. Nice. "So they feed ya roses in the circus, then?"

"Not purposely. Sometimes our harnesses would have flower decorations. Sometimes people threw flowers at us at the end of the show. I suppose those were treats."

I decided to go for the greens as well, and got a mouthful of prickles and thorns, hidden on the stems. "Aaaah!"

"Mind the stems."

Spot was so droll it hurt.

**(o) Heero's POV**

At the first flash of lightening, I herded us toward the stable.

"Not so soon," Duo whined.

If he'd only obey, he'd make a superb stable mate. But, no. His hooves scraped the ground, carving out excuses in the dirt, and even Trowa hemmed-and-hawed, but I allowed no disagreement and stood firm.

"I've seen and heard worse explosive displays." And although I couldn't imagine what those might have been like, I didn't doubt Trowa's word.

Nothing they said or did changed my resolve to escape the dangers of lightening. To be the leader I couldn't back down. I had to prove myself worthy of their respect.

Duo put up the biggest fuss, as expected. He asserted his stallion-ness at the stupidest times. Once the thunder rumbled and the lightening cracked overhead, he tore inside his stall without further complaint; although, he had to comment.

"It's time to go in anyway," Duo said, giving in as I knew he would.

"It's true," Trowa agreed, and then he, too, followed directions.

Then the rain drenched everything and Duo was most appreciative of the advance notification and sorry for his earlier dissention.

Idiot. He came over to my stall and gave me a nice back rub with his muzzle. Trowa must not have been hungry either, because he too strolled over and stood just outside my stall.

"I smell ozone. I'd smell that after the explosions in the circus. Humans put on shows with terrible loud sounds, but it seemed to interest them."

He tried to explain what a light show looked liked and how hiding tricks would involve smoke and loud "bangs" to distract the audience, while clowns did mundane things. I couldn't see the purpose in it, or the fun. All I saw was the danger.

"Fires could start, which would be horrible, but there was a lot of retardant around and men who were prepared to use it," Trowa said.

"Fires are awful! There's nothing worse!"

"Hey, 'Ro, you're tensing all up again, and I just gotcha relaxed. Whoa, you're shakin' buddy. What's the matter?"

It took a considerable amount of cajoling on both their parts to get me to finally unload my burden.

"Lightening is fire in the sky, and what it touches goes up in flame."

"It's light. but fire? You sure 'bout that?" Duo questioned, always questioning.

"Yes!" The venom in my tone scared Duo enough to make him rear backwards into the stall wall. "Yes," I said in a softer tone. "I'm very sure. I saw it strike at trees which then burst into towering torches. I smelled the smoke and new the barn was on fire and kicked an opening in the wall. I called to the other horses, one an old pony, to follow me out. I-I didn't look back. The sky was black and then more lightening, the roaring of flames, the shrieks. I ran to the house to get the humans to help, but it too was on fire. I kicked in a window and the Lady Relena was there. She climbed out and we rode off to safety."

Trowa and Duo let me tell the story without interrupting.

Then Trowa asked, "The other horses?"

I just shook my head. I could have used a word or two in order to move on, and Duo provided it.

"You really were a hero, just like your name. You saved your rider. That was something."

"I wonder. I've never seen her since."

"She'll find you," Trowa said, though I don't know how he'd know such a thing. "Humans keep in touch and talk to each other even when they aren't in the same room. She'll find you some day."

"I hope she doesn't," Duo said with a vehemence I didn't understand. What had my Lady ever done to him? "She'd come and take you away! She'd take you back and I don't want that to happen. I don't want to lose my best friend. Not again."

That about took my breath away. I was his best friend? I needed to re-think how I felt toward him. I certainly hadn't felt lonely since his arrival, and he was attractive and handy to have around at times. He was staring at me and so was Trowa with a curious look in his eyes. They were expecting me to say something meaningful.

"None of us can undo the decisions of humans." That was vague enough, I thought.

"That's not reassuring at all. You're not very good at making me feel better."

I couldn't get any more out of Duo as he moped. But Trowa seemed game to try.

"In the circus we performed in a ring, like the arena outside, with people in seats stacked up the sides of the tent nearly to the top. There was an act where a human would set fire to a giant hoop hanging in the air. The audience "ooh'ed and ahh'ed" and it was hard not to stare at it. My job was to go around and around the ring at a constant pace in a particular, even gait."

"Sounds boring-"

"-With a leopard on my back."

"What's a leopard?" Duo asked, engaged in the story and done moping.

"A cat."

Duo snorted. "Like I said, bor-ing."

"A cat the size of a month-old horse."

"No shit!"

I was impressed, too.

"I had to time my pace perfectly. The leopard was trained to jump through the ring of fire, pass through, and land on my back."

"Proving cats are stupid animals. No horse would do that." I was certain _I_ wouldn't.

"Not me!" Duo was less an idiot than I gave him credit for. A great deal less, and he had very luxurious and useful mane and tail hair.

"It was hell to practice," this paired with his low-key manner came out very funny. And in his own way, Trowa made me forget the potential horror of the storm outside and give me something else to talk about.

I could hear the rain running down the gutters to be collected in underground cisterns for fire control. Clever humans. I had read and memorized the rules posted everywhere for the human caretakers to follow, and they seemed thorough. All reassuring.

I was number one. I must be vigilant at all times, but for the time being I could share that responsibility with my stable mates. I even shared my stories with them.

"Where I lived before there were cats, but normal sized ones, and one day-"

I felt safe with my companions. I felt comfortable in my home. I felt happy in my head and not a little confused. Duo was responsible for that. I was the leader and yet he could manipulate me to do things like giving him back rubs. He didn't obey my commands immediately. He smelled delicious. I wanted him.

He gave me lots to muse over all night.

Horse Notes:

Appaloosas are very versatile having great endurance and excellent dispositions. Although they can be stubborn, most Appaloosas are extremely intelligent and have trustworthy willing temperaments. Some physical characteristics that are shared by most Appaloosas are a short mane and tail. Most appaloosas also have strong sturdy legs and hooves, and are generally very sure-footed. Appaloosas are generally very gentle and are suitable for every level of rider.


	3. Chapter 3

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks go to Waterlily for her valuable editing and to Snowdragon for her horse know-how

**Chapter Three—Four's a Charm**

**(o) Howard's POV**

"Who? Why, yes, certainly I'll hold." For the representative of a rich Arab sheik with a horse to shuck? Sure, I'd hold.

I felt that the new purebred horse venture was going well. The first three stallion acquisitions got along marvelously; the shy, quiet, new one balancing the other two, and actually giving the Thoroughbred a run for his money. Oh, I'd been warned against stabling a herd of bachelors, but these were special. Survivors.

We received calls daily from horse owners ready to dispose of their unwanted "treasures". I said "no, thank you" to them all. I was very selective. I surely didn't want to introduce a mare or even a neutral gelding into the all-stallion bachelor herd. The chaos that would ensue from that mix was mind-boggling to imagine. No, I had a mind to acquire at most six horses, one for each of the doctors and one for myself. That would be all. So each new acquisition had to count.

"I can do that. Calendar is free. I'll look forward to meeting you, er… Mr. Rashid."

Yes, I was setting up an appointment to meet some Arab spokesperson, a horseman named Rashid.

Instructor H wished to join me at the meeting. He was another contributor to the horse sanctuary, and a rather fat one, who might improve his health with some time spent riding. He looked the part of an eccentric scientist with his receding hairline and a thin, dark mustache standing straight out at the sides, and spent his time as a design engineer at MO-III. What intrigued me was how familiar he was- in ways I didn't understand- with the workings of the Maguanac Corps. He informed me that Rashid was the head of that military organization. Great.

I circled the date on my calendar twice and bought a new Hawaiian shirt for the occasion. Wanted to look my best.

When Rashid arrived, he arrived accompanied by twelve of his men looking fresh from the desert sands. While three men unloaded the horse, Rashid got right to the point.

"Sheik Winner only keeps mares for his harem," Rashid said. "When this colt was born he was hidden with the other fillies by a, well, not _ill-intended_ but _confused_ individual. After that no appropriate placement was found."

He also had scarring on his legs, ruining him for show, I noticed. More was left out of this animal's history than was said.

He was a stunningly attractive animal in a rare color that was not a true palomino in Arabians but a phase of chestnut called Flaxen Honey Chestnut- a very light yellow color, with a flaxen mane and tail. No beauty such as this was being given away without a very good reason. I guessed it was temperament. That might explain the scars, too, if he had had to have been chained up at one time.

Ribbons in pastel blue and greens flowed from bows in his mane and tail smothering him in silk. Gold clinking coins dangled from chains circling each ankle.

"This rare yellow color was so highly prized by the Arabs, we've given it the desert name of Asfar," Rashid told us.

Instructor H shook his head and pulled at his moustache as he circled the young stallion, looking him over. I was glad to have his support because the tall Arab with the imposing stature made me feel uncomfortable.

I patted the stallion's neck. He seemed friendly enough to me. I could easily imagine him dashing over rolling sand dunes, happy and free. He certainly seemed spirited, shaking his mane and stepping around, sniffing my hair, the air, and Instructor H.

"_As far _as what, I wonder?" Instructor H shook his head some more, as if he were imitating the horse. "Can't use _that_ name. He's our forth purebred and so distinctly French in nature, making his name quite obviously Quatre."

Oh dear.

Rather than attempt to correct the instructor's confusion of the horse's color for his name, the tall Maguanac stood and offered his hand to close the deal.

"If he doesn't fit in, use him as you wish. We want nothing more to do with him." Rashid announced. "I'll be sending along his personal toiletries," he added over his shoulder, and then he took his leave and his men, loose pants, garish vests, red fez caps and all.

"I hope he and Duo get along," was my next concern. "It would give Duo another outgoing horse to socialize with. And another hot-blooded horse. Heero needs a lot of exercise and the two can run off their excess energy."

To my surprise, it was the other horse, our withdrawn Appaloosa, who re-acted the strongest to the new addition. As I led the dazzling young Arabian stallion into view of the other horses, Trowa shook the hair out of his eyes and whinnied. It was the first loud noise I'd heard out of him.

"Dear Lord! What could he possibly object to?" "H" asked.

"Maybe the jangling reminds him of the circus. I'll remove the ankle decorations."

Once he understood what I was doing, the Arabian turned out to be eager to please us. He picked up each foot with refined delicacy so I could remove the coin decorations, and waited courteously for me to offer a carrot before nuzzling my hand affectionately. Quatre nickered his pleasure when the last of the noise-makers were tossed away.

"What lovely manners."

I couldn't have agreed more. Such a prize being handed over to us for nothing in return puzzled me. I hoped I wouldn't regret accepting Quatre.

**(o) Trowa's POV**

Oh. My.

He's beautiful.

Beautiful.

Look at him!

Never, ever, ever has there been a more beautiful horse.

Come here, my beautiful, beautiful out-of-a-dream horse so I can see if you are substantial.

You smell real.

Drop dead gorgeous.

I'd seen a lot of good-looking horseflesh, only the best in the circus, but the ray of sunshine being escorted out to the pasture was breath taking. When I got my breath back, I looked at him with both eyes and the most primal call bubbled up and burst from my mouth.

What could I do? My legs wobbled, knees knocked, teeth chattered. I'd become a nervous shattering wreck. What's more, the other two stallions were watching me make a fool of myself. Not that they had anything over me. It was obvious how the bay doted on the black one and how the black one adored the bay. They were hardly out of contact, touching all the time.

I didn't know there were other stallions that felt the way I did. Mares didn't attract me at all. And here was another pair like me. Now, I wished so hard for this new one to be my special friend.

Howard and another man I didn't recognize led the beauty my way. _My_ way, not our way, because I reached the corral fence several lengths before either Duo or Heero.

I could hear Duo snickering and whispering to Heero before he shouted out, "Hey! That's my tail and it doesn't belong in your mouth!"

"Give him some space."

I wasn't sure if Heero meant the new horse, who did look a little hesitant to join up with the three of us hurtling our way toward him, or me. Couldn't be me. I wasn't acting particularly territorial, was I?

"Okay, okay! I get it. His shackles are up. Geesh, I see. Oh, wow! Getta load of the jewelry their taking off him. And the stuff in his mane; what's with that?"

"Streamers. Some part of a costume-"

"And that thing on his back-?"

My attention moved away from my stall mates to concentrate entirely on the beauty a nose-width away. Our noses touched. I felt light. Transported far and away to some exotic land. He smelled of incense and spices some of the clowns wore. He was full of fire packed down and repressed for the moment. He was afraid of us but brave enough not to back away.

"Hello."

"Hi! I'm 'The Asfar One'. Prize of the desert! Um, they are calling me Quatre."

"Can I call you Beautiful?" It just came out of my mouth. I think Duo had a bad effect on me, somehow loosening my inhibitions. I stepped back, expecting a bite.

"Oh! Aren't you sweet? That would be lovely! Ahh… I love your coat."

"I'm an Appaloosa. We all have spots. I, ah, like your blanket, too."

"Oh, thank you, the wrap was new for the trip. A little gaudy, of course—"He turned around to show off the horse blanket embroidered in roses and shining in the sun. Suddenly he came to his senses. "I'm sorry."

"No need to be."

"I haven't even asked your name and I've never seen anyone like you. I've seen creamy white pudding with rose petals, though, and you remind me of that."

"Pudding?" I hoped that was good. "Um, I'm Trowa. So, you like roses?" I'd kick Duo's ass if he'd eaten them all today.

"Yes! Aren't they delightful? Are they a rare treat here, too, ah, Trowa?"

"Very rare. Don't go away. I'll get you one."

I took off as if I had an elephant keeling over my way. I had to breathe. Get some air. Find just one blessed bloom. A bud. One pathetic little bud would have to do.

Damn. Duo and Heero were boxing him in. Shouldn't have left him. Duo looked like he was ready to romp across the arena and take my Beautiful out into the pasture.

"Thank you for the kind offer, Duo, but isn't it rather messy?" Quatre looked upset over the mud on his polished hooves.

Duo, I could tell, thought his worries were over the top. "Mebbe a bit."

Heero explained better. "We just had a thunderstorm. It'll be dry in a day."

"If it were bad, 'Ro wouldn't get me to muck about in the mud, not with this tail!" Duo swished his magnificent tail to show off.

I couldn't blame him for wanting to show off his best assets, but I felt it was time for me to step in.

"A rose! Thank you!"

"Would you rather see the stalls?" I asked as he munched the rose bud.

He seemed contented. "Yes, please."

"You can exercise in the barn if you prefer. The ground will be dry soon and the grass feels nice under your hooves."

"Grass?"

"Um, you'll see." Where had Beautiful come from? Even Duo had seen grass in city parks.

"Oh, what a splendid place!"

He loved the barn. He ran around in it and kicked up his heels. Something had hurt him once, from the looks of the marks on his legs. But that was unimportant. Even without the fluttering ribbons he was eye catching.

"Which spot is for sleeping? I see no straw."

"Not in here, actually. We each get a private stall. Pretty roomy and clean. Heero will know for sure which is yours, but probably next to mine on the end."

He didn't seem excited about his stall. I couldn't imagine why. It was plenty large, larger than any I'd seen, and those amazing cushy floors were kept pristinely clean.

Still, he shook off his melancholy by the time the other two joined us. Duo went out of his way to make him feel at home and not about to be attacked. Heero seemed agitated, which only made Beautiful nervous, so the two ended up back outside for a run.

Leaving me with the most beautiful horse to grace the land. We walked around and around the barn, reminding me of my circus job.

**(o) Duo's POV**

Coming from different places made communication rough at times between all us horses. Even though I thought 'Ro an' me were on the same wavelength most of the time, we had to work on our translations.

I told Heero that he really needed to chill a bit with these new horses. "Before you blow a gasket or something."

"It is too hot out to get chilled and I have no 'gasket'."

"You think you don't, but that vein in you neck's throbbing something fierce." And he was starting to grind his teeth, which I didn't mention.

He snorted at me. "You are going to go over-board," whatever that meant, "or run off with one of them."

"Ah, geez… you ought to know by now I'm not about to abandon you for some other cute tails. Sure Spot's a hunk and this new hotty is eye candy for us all, but you are The Stallion to head a Battalion of others."

He shook his head either agreeing or giving up, which was much the same thing. For the most part I'd given this new blondie a wide girth, letting Trowa do the heavy lifting of showing him around and making friends. This new little ray of Sunshine was a bit of a nervous Nelly when all of us hovered about.

Then the humans messed about with cleaning and food and the vet gave him the once over, bringing another day to a close.

I was about to take my nightly siesta, when the noise started up. I was about to shout at 'Ro to settle down, but the racket wasn't coming from his direction.

"Hey, Spot, buddy? Problem over there?"

I guessed that it was the new passionate blond stallion kicking the hell out of his stall and not my quiet next-door neighbor.

Spot replied succinctly, "Not me."

Just as I'd suspected. I unlatched my door and stepped out, disturbing Heero's meditation.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Checking on numero cuatro before he breaks something."

"Let me out," Heero demanded with an impatient hoof stomp.

"Just settle in there, 'Ro. Too many hooves and noses."

"OUT!"

"Gimme 5 and then I'll report back, 'kay?"

"Five? Five what? What are you talking about?"

Spot poked his head out and stretched his neck to the max. "He means five minutes on the clock over there."

"The clock?" Heero's words, but echoing my own thoughts.

Now I really wondered what circus pony meant. "Gimme 5" was just a phrase I repeated. I hadn't thought it really meant anything.

"With the hands," Spot elaborated. He wasn't much of a chatterbox.

"I see no humans anywhere."

I agreed with Heero on that one, and since Sunshine number four was still crashing the boards, I decided to just let Spot distract Heero with his nonsense, so I could mosey over and investigate without further argument.

"They're on the clock face…you have to watch the hands."

"They don't move!"

"Watch!"

Uh, huh, you do that, guys. I gave blondie a bit of a warning before nosing over into his space. "Howzit goin', bro?"

Another board splintered. I heard a sniffle and quiet. He'd stopped kicking the shit out of his door and turned around.

"Hey, remember me? Duo?"

"Oh, yes, certainly. I'm so sorry. I-I'm just so, so—"

Crazy? "Lonely?"

"Yes, very. And you've all been so nice and everything."

"Yeah, well, been there. Change is hard. Say, can I let you out? Would you like to walk around the barn a bit? Might help."

"I-I don't know. Uh, you can come in. Yes, please, come into my stall and talk. That would be quite nice."

"O-Kay. Kinda tight squeeze for two of us." The stalls were actually quite roomy, just not built for two adult stallions. But we weren't dancing, so I quit crabbing and circled round for a place to lay down, settling at last with being a part on, part off his straw pile. "How 'bout this?"

"Oh this is much better. Cozy."

"So, tell me about yourself, Sunshine."

Ah, he had long fluttering eyelashes.

"I don't know where to start."

But he had no problem filling in the middle and avoiding coming to an end.

I listened, some, replied with a couple of timely "uh, huh's" and "yeah's" to show I was still conscious, and chewed on some tasteless straw, facing the stall wall with my back toward him.

He lay on his back. What horse does that, I asked myself? None. His head rested on my shoulders.

And then he was quiet.

"Is that so?" I said, figuring I'd missed a significant cue.

When he didn't answer, I decided he'd drifted off and if I was going to leave, I'd better go now. I slid out from under his head and out of the stall. "Hey, Spot."

"Your 'five' is up."

"Yeah, thanks for that info. Um…do me a favor and take watch duty over lonely number four there."

"How?"

"Go in. Don't wake him up. Lie down."

"Close to him?"

"There's no way you won't be. Before he notices I've gone. I think he's used to a warmer climate."

"It's hot here."

"During the day, yes, but not so much at night. Listen, just do it and we'll figure something out for tomorrow."

Snort.

Well, "snort" to you too. "Got a better idea?"

"No."

I left him to deal with the blonde and checked on Heero next, mostly so he'd see I'd returned. Heero just stared ahead with that full-bore concentration he had. I followed his eyes, but there was only a human device on the barn wall, a stationary one.

"Ah, something wrong?"

"Watching the hands move over the face."

No hands. No movement. No face.

"Sorry, bro."

"The thin objects are 'hands' and they move slowly over the face pointing to numbers and… there! That one moved from the '3' to the '4'!"

"Uh, huh." I think it's more like the '03' moved to the '04' stall. Figured it would keep the jumpy ray of Sunshine quiet for a while."

Heero tore his eyes off his 'clock' to glare at me. I guessed that was to get a grip on reality. Then he asked, "Quatre is afraid of being in a stall?"

"Sorta, yeah, he was used to the crush of a harem of mares for company. And he was cold."

"M-mares?"

"Yep, then he got dumped with warrior stallions. He said they slept in tents with their humans."

"Why?"

"Company?"

"No, why _warrior _stallions?"

"Oh, ah, to toughen him up?"

"He's tough?"

"Well, not in my book by a long shot."

"Correct. I've seen cats that could whip him, possibly rats that could take him on."

"I guess, or he's tougher than he looks mebbe. Anyway after that he was sent up for stud duty, but he failed in the studdery department, got entangled in barbed wire—"

"In the 'studdery'?"

"No, when he ran to get the hell out of the studdery, I think he said. I was drifting off for a bit. But the point was he spoiled his legs for show work so here he is."

"Here he is. Well, he is quiet now. I think I'll go back to… thinking."

"You do that, 'Ro. Night." I returned to my stall since it looked like Heero'd given up on the moving hands illusion.

That Spot and his hocus pocus was such a clown. 'Ro was scary with his fixations. And this new ray of Sunshine was clearly off his rocker in ways I was afraid to delve into.

**(o) Trowa POV**

He'd never lived where grass grew from the ground and waved in the wind.

"Sand for a far as you could see. Except for the oases. That's where water could be found and there were palm trees."

I could not imagine such a place so I understood why he felt shell-shocked here.

"You understand? You're amazing, Trowa. I've never met another stallion like you, so in tune with your environment and with, well, me."

"Oh, it's… nothing." _He likes me! My Beautiful._

I danced for joy out in the sun and grass, and it thrilled him that I could. Oh, it was just foolish tricks, any horse could do, but most never did or put them together. I'd rear up and turn around on my back legs and hop. Circus crap.

He was so excited; we went for a run and located Heero and Duo out in the pasture resting the way they did, head to tail with a neck over the other's back. Very cozy. Heero wore a blissful expression, his eyes shut as Duo's tail swished over them both.

Then Beautiful whinnied, snorted, and backed away.

"Is it a snake?" Heero demanded, completely alert and ready for action all of a sudden.

"Snake? No!" Now Beautiful was all flustered. "It's my h-hooves!"

Duo nosed about, endangering his head to a kick, and came up looking empty. "They look okay to me."

The tall grass, starting to turn dry, wrapped around two of his legs and another seemed anchored in place, mud caking over his dainty, white stockings. I had the sudden urge to lick that leg clean and stopped myself only because that leg lifted with a "thuck" out of the muck.

"What is this stuff?"

"Grass?" Duo was totally confused. "You can eat it, see?" Chomp, chomp… He did not understand about the scars or the sand. He didn't know all I did.

So I talked to him. "It's okay, Beautiful. The grass is soft and breakable. The mud is like…ah… mash more than sand, but you can't eat it. It will be dry and hard by tomorrow in the sun here."

"Oh. Oh, of course. I'm being silly. Sorry."

"No problem. Would you like to go back to the rocky arena?"

"Yes, but… I can't believe grass grows like this. I really must give it a try." He shook each leg free, one at a time, then dove for a mouthful.

He seemed at peace so I grazed alongside him, nudging him from time to time just to get him to look at me. I felt very happy. Contented enough to pretty much ignore Duo's chatter. To a point.

"Hey, 'Ro? Didya hear that? He called the new blond Beautiful. Whaddya think, huh?"

"I think you should scratch my back and ignore them."

"Oh. O-kay, boss."

Now that's what I'd call good leadership.

Horse Notes:

Arabians have beautiful, floating paces, and are quick and intelligent. They are the other "hot blooded" breed and if poorly handled can have short concentration span, show impatience, have tantrums when something is too difficult, and prefer a good gallop to a challenging training session. Arabian horses are well known for being affectionate and bonding well with humans. Arabians have also become the breed of choice in the endurance world because of their stamina and agility, their friendly nature and willingness to work. Arabians are the most prized and costly horse breed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily's edits and Snowdragon's expertise in horse behavior and care

**Chapter Four—All for One**

**(o) Howard POV**

Nothing made me sleep better at night than knowing my horses were thriving, even buying a brand new, excessively loud shirt gave me less pleasure. And the horses were blossoming—like my roses were not.

Heh, wonder why that is?

The striking Appaloosa finally came out of his shell and perked up with attention from the new Arabian. Of course, he heaped copious attention on Quatre as well. The affection was not something I've noticed in horse behavior before—not between mature stallions.

Heero and Duo spent time together, as they had before, but Heero seemed calmer as the Thoroughbred has learned to tolerate the black Morgan's teasing manner. And Duo has simply flourished with ample exercise and a steady diet. He was quite playful and coltish yet, a good year or so younger than the other horses. If I didn't know better, I'd say he amused Heero.

All was well, and that was a good thing because fall was in the air and after that would come the winter with its harsh weather—too harsh for these purebreds. Even the wild horses go under the shelters the workmen erect and accept the extra hay and feed left for them. No, my fine little horses could be in closer quarters day and night for days at a time. If they didn't get along, I wanted to know now.

And on that subject, the indoor arena building project was on target to be completed on time, thankfully. Particularly with hot blooded horses, I'd need the workout space. There are only two recognized hot-blood breeds; the Arabian and the Thoroughbred, and we had one of each.

"Hot blooded" referred to their temperament, which has been described as difficult by some and passionate by others, and categorically demands regular exercise. But then there was Duo, who appeared compelled to keep up with Heero, and Trowa, who seemed to enjoy displaying his intricate dance training.

Actually, they all provided the doctors and me with an array of interesting and often delightful entertainment.

I made a call to the place of my previous employment, the Peacecraft stables, to chat with a few old contacts. There was a club, of sorts, made up of us old geezers who ran or worked with the elite's horses. We called ourselves the Sweepers and one of them had taken my place at Peacecraft's.

"Yeah, things are fine here. _Horse Haven Sanc-tuary_ it's called. Yeah, well, I'm looking for a horse of my own. Something special. Just be on the lookout for a stallion. Stallion only."

They were paring down their stock, as it turned out, and concentrating on a few mares exclusively. A stallion might be available in spring. Not a bad time at all.

**(o) Quatre's POV**

It was hot as I was used to during the day, but at night the temperature dropped. I wasn't really cold. I was lonely in my cell. Isolated from the others. I could hear Trowa the best, since he was in the stall next door. Shuffling his feet. Sneezing. Eating first his mash and then munching on his hay. He did that for the longest time. Then he was quiet.

Very quiet. Too quiet. My imagination filled in all the dark corners with horrible images of "things" coming at me out of the walls… and up from the floor to get my hooves.

"Hey, Beautiful, settle down over there."

"I-I'm sorry, Trowa. I'm not used to being alone this way."

Snort. "I thought you'd had a hard time with war horses and would have liked being apart from the rest of us."

"Yes, but that part happened so recently and was over so fast."

"So tell me about the good memories."

What a good idea!

"As I'd told you before, I'd been brought up in a harem of mares; the lead mare, Iria, was my sister, giving me some preferential treatment. I led a delightful life. So happy and coddled. My training began right after breakfast each and every day. I learned my proper gaits and polite manners. We all slept on cushions and ate out of gold cups and we were dressed in the finest, softest blankets to protect our backs from the sun. And I had a matching face mask to protect me from the flies. The lace was imported!"

"Was it? Lucky you. I had to wear some pretty awful crap in the circus, too."

I didn't think he understood quite how much I had liked my old life, but he was a lovely listener just the same.

"We'd ride out into the sand and let the wind blow through our hair. Oh, Trowa. It was wonderful. And then it all ended!"

"What happened?"

Dark thoughts wiped out the golden sunshine of my harem days. "I know which gelding turned me in. He'd been visiting from the 'working' horse stables and spied me enjoying the life he didn't have. I did not mount that mare! He circulated lies about me, and the mares made Iria push me out of the harem."

"Rough."

"And the stud stables were horrid!" I shivered so hard I bumped against the wall adjoining Trowa's stall. "They made me mount a fake horse for practice and tried taking samples of… oh, it was humiliating."

"Steady, there. You all right?"

"Yes." I would be. I was tough inside.

Trowa stuck his head out of the window; I could hear the difference in his voice. He had a nice voice, husky, whispery, soft. His heart felt so warm and true, and he paid attention to what I said and commiserated so well. I just knew I could trust him not to hurt me.

"Depending on your interpretation of 'stud', not all stallions are stud material," he said. "I'm not."

"Me neither," I confessed. "There, I said it and I don't felt like any less of a stallion for having admitted it. You should have _seen _me, Trowa. I destroyed _two _stalls trying to escape."

"A real fighter."

"But…oh, dear, after that the humans sent me to the battle tents."

"Ah, you showed spirit though."

"I guess I did," I said, feeling the painful memories recede into the background. Trowa could make me feel good with the simplest words.

"Better now?"

Amazingly, I was. I'd safely locked away the nightmares for the night. "Thank you. I think I can rest now."

"Good. If I don't get my beauty sleep the spots move. You don't want my spots do you?"

Air blasted out through my lips. He was so funny! "If I see any slipping under the door, I'll stomp them to tiny little specks like sand and let the humans sweep them away with the old straw."

"Good idea. Don't want to muss up that pretty gold color."

He liked my color! How sweet! Wait! Did he think I'd insulted his handsome dots? Oh, no! "I didn't mean I don't like the spots, sneaky or not. I think your spots are very… sexy and striking on you."

"Hmm, ahh…" Trowa was mumbling and hiding behind his forelock having become bashful.

Had I made him uncomfortable by complementing him? "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"Um… nothing… Anyway, it's better that you wreck my devious spots than the stall door."

He was right, of course, but I didn't know any better way to chase away by nightmares, except- "If I had the right box with a tight-fitting lid, I could collect all your stray spots for when I need (you) extra bravery."

He snorted that silly idea away.

I shivered. A chilly breeze wafted in. To sleep, I'd had to close my stall window to the outside. The air was warm and nice during the day, but cold at night.

"You're doing a lot of sniffing." Trowa was talking to me from the back window of the stall, the one facing into the barn.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm cold."

Snort.

"Want me to come over?"

"Oh, yes! Yes, please! Would you be so kind? I'd be so terribly grateful—" I had another thought. "I, ah, don't make a habit of inviting everyone I meet into my bedroom, just so you know—"

"I'll be a minute getting Duo."

Oh, of course, Duo. He was marvelously talented at getting human devices to move. His lips possessed an unbelievable agility, which he put to good use opening gates and latches. And I suspected Heero received a great deal of teasing from them, too. Not that it appeared he minded deeply.

I heard Duo's shoes on the wood floor outside my stall, so I pushed open my window. "Hi!" I hadn't worn shoes, not on the soft sand of my homeland. The sand also kept my hooves manicured naturally.

"Howdy do? I'll get your door—there you go, our Little Ray of Sunshine. Sweet dreams you two." Duo shuffled around Trowa and left us alone.

"Hey, Beautiful." Trowa looked faintly amused by the whole silliness, though, I'm sure he'd seen more ridiculous things in his circus career.

Oh, my! The way he called me "beautiful" warmed my heart so fast I shivered. My head was spinning so; I hardly knew what to say. Luckily I could fall back on my good manners at a time like that. "Hello. Won't you come in?"

"Be my pleasure."

He could chase away all the demons of the dark. I just knew he could.

(o)

The next morning, Duo let us out into the arena. "Wanna go out to the pasture? Might be some dew."

He was looking at my feet so I know he was thinking I was terribly persnickety. I didn't want to appear fragile around these stallions, nice as they all seemed. Heero and Trowa appeared eager to get going. I didn't want to me the one they picked on, and experience warned me I would be.

"Let's go!" I shouted and took off.

Only Heero could keep up with me running at top speed. Trowa and Duo eventually joined up and looked able to keep going and going after we were totally winded.

"I do so enjoy this meadow grass!" It was delicious and I spent most pleasant morning of grazing upon the delicate, fresh blades with the sun on my back.

Trowa's head shot up and I looked around. Heero was already moving off toward a copse of low trees. Duo was alternating between whinnying for us and chomping on—

"Apples!"

Who knew that sweet treat grew on trees? I watched as he stretched his neck at little more and then nibble at the low hanging fruit. "It's falling off, " he explained, mouth full, "which is good… 'cause… look at all the apples just out of reach."

Trowa steadied his rear footing then rose up into the air, kicking at branches with his forelegs, and more fruit fell. I just loved how he did that. He could dance so elegantly!

Oh, oh. Heero looked angry. I admired him extremely, but he was also the one I was most afraid of. He was the leader and so bossy at times. Duo was his perfect foil, so unpretentious and a little bit of a rebel. I loved to watch them play.

"It's not a substitute for grass."

"It is for me!"

"Food is too often your primary focus." Heero stomped his foot, crushing the apple Duo was lunging for. "Unacceptable. Your primary focus should be me."

"Whoa, baby! Don't think too highly of yourself, eh? You ever starve to near death? I'll bet not."

"Overeating now won't help a thing."

"It makes me happy." Duo was so obstinate at times.

"Suit yourself, then. Too much will make you sick."

"How would you know?"

"Lady Relena told me."

"A human, naturally. A human starved me and… the others."

Trowa nosed at a fruit and rolled it at my feet. I'd been so inattentive to him!

"Thank you," I said and tested it. The skin looked bruised on one side, but it smelled delicious. I ate the little apple in two bites. Scrumptious! I instantly understood why Duo couldn't help himself.

I didn't notice that Heero had left until Trowa nickered and I looked up from my own apple hunt and saw Heero and the kind human called Howard marching together. Howard shouted for us to "GO!" and Heero got all pushy.

"Time to head back," Trowa told me.

Had the morning passed so quickly?

Oh, and being "hosed off" was definitely something I would have to get used to. There was the nasty being wet part and being chilled. Was it too much to hope for warm water and bubbly, scented soap? Probably. But there was the lovely being groomed component that came after.

The others were so excited over getting their hooves done—I understood that perfectly! Cleaned and trimmed, we all looked so nice, and they weren't to get re-shod! No hard surfaces for them.

Duo skipped about nickering for joy, "I feel so light!"

I looked for my basket of adornments. I looked especially nice with dozens of ribbons, and a bit of polish on my hooves to make them sparkle. Rashid had left my things behind, though. Not even my blankets, or Percy.

I tried not to show my disappointment. I shouldn't mind not getting my hooves polished; I really didn't, much. I wouldn't miss the ribbons, soon, either. I hoped. Fitting in with the others was far more important. I hoped I could. I hoped dear, sweet Percy could get on without me, too.

I did get to keep my one lovely silk embroidered blanket, and none of the other horses minded as far as I could tell. Trowa even liked rubbing his nose against it, saying it felt "nice." It was nearly the color of his coat. Pink. The white roan finish all over softened the base strawberry turning him pink. Rose. Dusty Rose. Sprinkled with darling polka-dots!

He felt nice, too, when he rubbed up beside me.

We spent the afternoon in our stalls, waiting for a veterinarian to check us over one at a time. I guessed it was to make me feel less conspicuous.

The vet fussed over me and it was lovely! I used my best manners and she was so kind. Her name was Sally and I loved her gentle hands. I could tell this was going to be a good home for me. I enjoyed the sunset out my window and the warm dry air turning cool on my face. A very nice place, even though I didn't feel very special, even though I wasn't the cherished one.

Sally and Howard were talking. I often wondered what humans spoke of. I could often feel their emotional outbursts, but that was like looking out of a curtained stall door, leaving me to imagine all the rest of what was going on.

So peaceful.

I heard the most frightening noise coming from one of the other horses. Duo!

He was complaining about a stomachache, gas, and, yucky diarrhea. I whinnied in alarm. Sally must know!

Trowa and Heero joined in and once we had her attention, Sally was tending to Duo. Howard came. Humans carried devises to call to one another when they were too far to shout. Very handy since they were terribly hard of hearing, and seeing, and they couldn't sense smells at all. Poor things. No wonder they needed horses!

Trowa stuck his head out his window and around so that if I did the same our noses could touch. "Duo's sick."

"I heard!"

"Heero's telling him it was the apples. Too many."

"He could be right." I hoped Sally could help him.

"Keeps trying to kick his sides."

Uh oh. That's so dangerous. He might rupture himself doing that. "He must hurt so bad." I wasn't feeling so good myself, but I was just transferring his feelings to me, I hoped.

"You should be fine, by the way."

"Hmm?"

"You only ate the one apple. You'll be fine."

"Oh. Thank you, Trowa." So thoughtful. I really felt a little better now.

"Hold on, Beautiful. Heero's calling."

_Beautiful? Me?_

I could barely hear Heero's over the noise from Duo's stall. Sally and another young woman she called "Meg" rushed past with blankets, a long coil of tubing, and a bucket of bottles.

We'd only know each other a short while, but I felt Heero looked edgier than I'd seen him yet. He always looked intensely aware of his surroundings, but now he combined that with his extreme agitation.

"They're making Duo stand. He wants to lie down. Oh—"

"Heero! What is it?" Trowa sounded worried. He turned to me. "He's trying to peek into Duo's stall."

Our leader vanished, but he wasn't gone long before his head reappeared. "I can't see well, but I think they've injected him with something. He's quiet. He's wrapped in blankets. I-I just don't know. I knew a horse that died with agonizing stomach pains."

"He'll be okay." Trowa's low voice seemed to sooth Heero and his ears perked up. "He's a tough little horse. He's been through worse."

"The idiot. Eating all those apples— He should have listened!"

Now, I hardly knew him, but I could tell Heero adored Duo and didn't mean anything bad. He was so worried Duo might not make it.

"Yeah, he should have," Trowa agreed.

Yes, he cared, too. They all cared about one another in a way I admired. I wanted to be a part of this bachelor herd.

I closed my eyes and reached out with my horse-sense and found Duo's mind. "Be safe. Be well. Rest." I reassured him over and over and he seemed to hear; at least, I felt it worked that way. It seemed that he felt me, too, and understood and calmed.

I broke the contact and stuck my head out of my window as far as possible. "He's in less pain."

Heero's gaze riveted on me.

"He's… ah…passing the apple fine. He's going to be fine." I wanted to reassure him, but I could tell he was confused. "I can feel it."

Both he and Trowa stared at me. I didn't flinch. I could stand up to two stallions separated by sturdy partitions. I'd stood up to many, and I'd gotten away.

"He's got the horse-sense, Heero."

"That's good to know." Heero look relieved even though he said, "Doesn't matter. I want to see how he's doing for myself."

I smarted a little from Heero's sharp tone. Being emphatic could be seen as a useful tool, or an invasion of privacy.

"He just misses all the attention Duo usually gives him." Trowa stretched his neck and I stretched until our noses touched.

"Maybe you have some horse sense, too?" I gazed into Trowa's visible eye.

"I sense you," was all he said.

It was a long night. None of us slept.

"Trowa?"

"Yeah?"

"Duo's asleep now."

"I'll pass that on. Heero says he never sleeps, but Duo told me Heero sleeps during the day, resting his chin on his back. Once Duo asked him a question and he snored, so he knows." Trowa nickered in amusement.

"They seem to like each other a lot."

"Does that bother you?"

"Me? Why should that bother me?"

"Just making sure. You lived with mares."

"I lived with stallions and geldings, too. They hated me."

Trowa seemed unable to speak anymore; at least, he turned his head away to the privacy of his stall.

The night wore on.

"You'll be fine, Duo." I just knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: My eternal gratitude goes to Waterlily and Snowdragon for their help

**Chapter Five—And One for All**

(o) **Heero's POV**

The Doctors visited us each week; Trowa said it was regular and "on the weekend", but then he could understand human number systems, counting, and measuring time and space with numbers. Very useful skills to have in the band.

Quatre had the horse sense, which was more than just stable thinking, as Trowa said, as a joke, Duo told me. It allowed him to feel his way through the mire of human thought processes. I felt was a burden to its bearer, but invaluable to the herd. I totally lacked it and I could use some insight into the behavior of others. The fact that he seemed very willing to please and follow directions relieved me to focus on the more recalcitrant members of our all-stallion herd.

"Takes ten minutes from the barn to the far pasture and back," Trowa told me.

But my asking "Why "ten"? only got me a shake of his head and an equally unclear answer.

"'Cause eleven's too many and nine's too few."

"Hn," seemed the appropriate response to that.

To which he added further confusion, "Numbers are sequential, orderly, get bigger as you count up and smaller as you count down."

"All the time?" I wondered.

"Yeah."

I felt satisfied. I did like order and dependability. Someday I'd like to get a hoof-hold on numbers.

In any case, the Doctors came and rode us, putting us through our paces, testing our abilities. This week, G went without, spending his time with Duo, which was appropriate considering how close he'd been to death. The fool had gorged himself on apples and might have blown his guts up had Sally, our vet, and her assistant, Meg, not been present at the time and skilled in horse care.

I hadn't yet forgiven him for his gluttony. He'd scared me to death.

J rode me, a heavier load than my lady had been, but still I moved as if his weight was nothing to bear. I am a very strong horse, even if I appear fine-boned. My rider seemed pleased at how I'd learned to move on his commands. It wasn't complicated and I was an accomplished horse. Let him be impressed, though.

Trowa carried S, providing a smooth and steady ride and even kneeling on command, which took effort on both their parts. He was nearly as sure-footed as Duo, nearly. He held his head a bit higher now that Quatre had arrived, I noticed. I noticed everything because as lead stallion that was my duty—to watch.

H, who I had only seen once before, rode Quatre, whose flowing gaits were very attractive. He proved himself to be a very proficient horse. I had discovered he could run almost as fast as I, and liked it, but he had perfect manners as well, which charmed the humans. And Trowa. I was pleased that Trowa no longer tended to Duo's whims or stood quite so close. I welcomed Quatre's presence, "the little ray of sunshine", as Duo called him.

Every other day, a trainer, Howard, or some other handler would ride or work us in the arena. Once in a while, we'd go for a longer ride through the pasture. Trowa told me he saw the wild horses far off in the distance; he was very imaginative.

Five days, Trowa told us, after Duo had gone ill, we returned from our ride with the Doctors and I saw him: Duo standing with G outside in the arena. He whinnied and I answered back. He looked good. _Breathtaking_. He'd had a bath and been groomed so his sides gleamed black as a crow. His tail flew about in the breeze. Excitement and energy radiated from him like a storm cloud on the horizon.

As soon as J gave me free rein, I raced to see Duo.

I was brought up short when I spied her, Lady Relena, Relena leaning on the fence with her gloved hands gripping the uprights. "Heeero!"

Howard was there, too, and he didn't look pleased at all.

I meant to touch noses with Duo first, but there I was with the lady's arms around my neck. I didn't need to understand her exact words to get the gist of what she was saying.

"My Heero!"

I wasn't totally aware of my surroundings. I was stunned. Then Trowa's ass was pushing me back.

"Duo," he nickered, and then he was running through a few kowtow bowing tricks.

I heard Relena giggle over them behind me as I trotted over to Duo like I'd been headed to do in the first place.

Quatre was blubbering over Duo, but moved over grudgingly when I nosed my way in. "He's here now. Everything's going to be all right, I just know it!"

Of course everything was going to be all right. Why wouldn't it?

"You look better," I told him truthfully. "Are you?"

Duo turned away. He wouldn't talk to me. What was his problem?

"You greeted the humans first and not him," Quatre explained. "Why would you go and hurt his feelings like that?"

When had the Arabian gotten so bold? "I didn't mean to. What did he expect me to do? Of course I greeted them before him. They own me. Duo's just…a horse."

"No. _I'm_ just a horse. He's your… your _best_ friend." At that Quatre tossed his head and flipped me a tail before trotting to join Trowa.

I stood looking first at Duo's back and then at the humans, moving off. Howard's voice grew louder and Lady Relena's softer as they walked away. I assumed Relena was going to be living here now, which was fine.

I buzzed Duo's neck with my lips, moving over his cheeks and licked. It felt good when he did it to me, a soothing yet also titillating caress when he moved to stroke my neck. My lips weren't as agile as his, but I thought I'd executed the move properly. I licked his eye and make him shiver and snort.

"Geez, 'Ro, I just had a bath. Ewww. I'm going back in."

That hadn't gone as well as I'd expected.

We all moved to the stables once our saddles were taken and we were groomed. Someone mixed molasses in with the bran and oats, making it delicious. I didn't stop eating till it was done and I'd licked the bowl clean. I heard Duo snuffling about and stuck my head out my window. "What are you doing? Are you okay?"

"Just bored—waiting. You done eating over there? What did you guys do, run for the hills and back?"

"Over trails. Exercise gives me an appetite." I remembered something else I wanted to tell him. "Oh, are you able to unlatch the doors tonight?"

"Oh sure. I'm just fine now. Whatsa matter? Miss me?"

"Quatre's been atrocious. And I did miss you."

He nickered deep in his chest, a happy sound that made me do the same.

"You nearly went all sappy on me there, 'Ro. Eat your hay. Trowa'll let us know when the humans leave."

Sappy? Must have been referring to the molasses. I didn't have any on me and couldn't possibly gotten any on him. Idiot.

That night, Trowa kept Quatre from kicking his stall, and we all got a good night's rest.

(o)

In the morning, I learned that Trowa had successfully mounted Quatre and kept his imagination occupied, thus keeping him quiet. I filed that important information away for my own use.

Duo got a fly up his nose right after unlatching our door.

Snort! "Ugh!" He ran out into the arena to blow it out. From there he had the gate open to the pasture before Trowa had his eyes open.

"C'mon!" I nudged the sleepy spotted horse. "Duo's feeling his oats this morning."

"And that means we all have to run like crazy before breakfast?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah," Trowa said. "We have to miss _our_ oats."

I led the others chasing the black tail streaming up the hill … and along the ridge, catching up to Duo first.

"Freedom!" Duo whinnied like a demon possessed.

"You _are_ feeling better." _And looking great_, I thought.

"Yes!" Quatre skipped about eager to join in the race or fun or whatever Duo was up to.

Trowa buried his nose into the grass with one last word. "Dandelions."

"The pretty yellow flowers?" Quatre asked in an attempt to show interest. "Are they good?"

"They're great! I can attest to that," Duo put in. He already had one between his teeth, the flower bobbing around as he chewed the stem. "Spicy."

I stared at him. Hard.

"I'm not eating more than one, so don't give me the evil eye."

Mine was not an evil eye. It was an "I dare you to defy me" eye. And he didn't. He kept his word and to a mostly all-grass diet.

We spent the entire day grazing the hill, moving further from the stable than we ever had, on our own, until we stopped at a fence.

"Over there is where the wild horses live. On the other side," I told Quatre. "We've smelled them and heard them."

"I've seen them."

That was Trowa. He couldn't see them; he just said he could. If I couldn't see them, they weren't visible, because they were too far away.

"Wild—? What are they like? Do they look like us?" Quatre got the strangest, stupid look in his eyes. They were horses—of course they looked like us.

"Most have spots." _Sure_. To Trowa most horses had spots like him, even though most didn't. Most looked like me, brown. "More like blotches."

Uh, huh. Quatre believed him, listening with bated breath.

Eyes back to Duo. "Duo, what is it?"

He always had to be watched. Without a lead mare, I was on watch duty at all times, and he was the one most likely to push the boundaries. He passed it off as acceptable because he'd been a "city horse" all penned up, which made no sense at all to me.

"A gate." He sounded thrilled. To him a gate was an invitation to adventure.

"Too bad." That was Quatre. To him a gate was a blockade.

"Not bad at all," Duo chattered and then went silent as he messed around with the latch.

I watched but I knew I couldn't open it. I could break it, possibly, with a good, swift kick.

"You know what they say about doors? One door closes and another opens." Duo knew the strangest things and repeated even odder things.

"Maybe we should stay on this side. The Doctors made us ride past."

I agreed with Quatre. In principle. Still.

"Humans put up fences to keep us out of cool places. They put gates in so they can get to the other side. You know what's on the other side, don'tcha?"

"More grass?" Quatre said, seeing plenty of it as the gate door swung open.

"Food, for sure," Duo agreed.

Those two were pretty buddy-buddy going though the opening to the other side, so Trowa and I had to follow. We, at least, should be vigilant and on the lookout for danger.

"Big cats."

"You're not in the circus anymore. Ditch the cat stuff." _Please! _My Lady had cats and I didn't like them. Or their sneaky ways. Untrustworthy eyes.

"Don't move!" Trowa shouted. Shouted. _Trowa had raised his voice_. "Halt!"

We were like statues, even Duo. So, when Trowa had said "big cats" he'd meant as a warning that there were big cats _in the pasture_. _Here_! I was going to have to speak to him about being too low key.

Quatre was trembling. "I must run."

"Run and you'll be attacked. Fight it."

When had Trowa become the specialist on mountain lions?

"D'oh! This is such a lame way to die! This is so not cool!" Duo complained, loudly, but he didn't twitch a muscle. {A/N: nod to the GW series for the quote.}

"Don't show fear. Show your teeth, which are big and impress them. Then be prepared to kick the hell out of them."

I could feel the rumbling purr of one cat vibrating through my whole body before it turned around and ran off at our unified front and show of teeth. I felt silly baring my teeth that way, but it worked.

The remaining animal met our eyes, glaring, ears back and lashing its tail, and then snarled.

"Geeze, Trowa! This ain't the circus. That's no trained lion or nothing. That's a wild one."

"Heero, Duo—rear kick. Quatre, stand up. On a count of three—"

"Three what?" We all wondered that.

"Now!"

We attacked in a very un-horse-like way. It was instinctual to run off and yet we lashed out our sharp hooves and the mountain lion whipped about. It didn't fight back at all. It cried once and ran.

"We did it!" Duo and Quatre bumped shoulders.

"Risky," I reminded them all.

"You're amazing." Quatre's eyes were wide, his flaxen mane blowing in the wind as he stretched his neck and touched noses with the spotted horse, who practically elevated into the air with pride.

"I worked with the big cats, starting with learning how to 'read' them and anticipate what they'd do before they did it. I suspected cougars would be pretty stable creatures, like tigers, and they were."

"Lucky guess."

"Yes!" Quatre agreed with Duo. "Lucky break for us."

Trowa shook his head. "You all pulled together. Did the right thing. The only luck was bad, running into them."

"That's right." I granted him that. "Back to the stable, and, Duo? Lock the gate."

"Yes, sir. As you say, boss."

I think Duo was being sarcastic, but I was too shaken to care. I hated cats. The bigger they were just made them worse. "Those mountain lions were far too close to us for comfort."

"Wild mares dropping foals could attract the cats." Trowa shook his forelock out of his eyes. "Told you I'd seen the wild horses. They come close-in sometimes."

Know it all.

(o)

I didn't see Lady Relena. I hadn't seen her since the day Duo was well. Just that once. She either was busy and didn't have time to visit me or I'd been wrong thinking she was staying with Howard and the Doctors.

"Duo."

"Yeah?"

I did my best to ignore how he'd put a bit more distance between us. Every time I tried mounting him, he'd twist away. It was all a game for him. Or, possibly he wasn't completely well. Now, I had it in my mind to find out if Relena lived in the big house, and he could help me get a closer look, if he'd cooperate.

"Sometime, I want to get up to the big house, where the people live."

"Oh? Okay, you mean you want me to get you past the gates?"

"Yes. I want to know if Lady Relena lives there."

"I don't think she does, 'Ro. She'da been hanging around you. From the looks of it, she was here visiting and lives someplace else."

"That's the other possibility, sure."

"I think she came looking for you and wants to take you away."

"She wouldn't do that. This is my home. Howard and the Doctors wouldn't allow that."

"Humans change our world, who knows their plans?"

I would have let him snuggle up and rest his head on my back, but he didn't try. He wasn't totally aloof; he spoke to me and chased me around a little. I just sensed a change, more of that distancing I'd noticed before. It left me feeling confused and empty in a way no amount of hay could fill. Mostly confused.

(o)

Ever watchful. That should have been my name. It suited me.

But, it was hard to concentrate when my mind replayed what Duo had said. What if he was right and Relena had come to claim me, that my stay had been temporary from the start? No, that didn't make sense, even for humans. Everyone had gone to too much effort for a temporary stay. I'd been assigned number 1, the one and only or the first, not the one to go.

Duo was wrong.

One by one, the grooms checked us for pests and curried our hair. A very pleasant procedure. When my turn was over I watched the newest stable boy clean Duo's stall. He'd stopped twice already to answer the buzzing device hidden in his hip pocket. Nervous energy radiated from the human, and distraction rose off him like a fog from damp ground.

Duo nearly ran him down returning to his stall. _His_ stall.

_Idiot, put that device away!_

"Whoa, ho! Sorry little guy. Geez, don't humans know we're like a bazillion times bigger than them? You'd think self-preservation would set in and they'd look out when a horse is aiming for the feedbag, wouldn't ya?"

"You would think so, yes." I agreed with Duo wholeheartedly, and he returned me a look that made me shiver.

His eyes slid over me from hoof to shoulder, nose to tail, examining. "They did a nice job on your coat," he said, and I shivered again.

He could do that to me with a look. I wanted him in a way I didn't quite understand yet.

Trowa's heroics aside, I had no illusions of our odds living long, healthy lives in the wild. Humans were fragile and flawed, but they worked magic and held our lives in their hands. It was a good pact we had.

Still, they required watching. Like this boy. He swatted DUO! No one punishes my friends unjustly without consequences.

_It wasn't Duo's fault you got in the way, idiot! _I whinnied and stomped.

"Let it go, 'Ro. No harm, no foul."

Whatever THAT meant! Where had Duo picked up all that nonsense to say?

He looked good, though, and I know he hadn't been harmed. Yes. He looked real good in spite of having his face half covered by his food. He seemed unaffected, so I sucked on a straw and watched his shadow moving as he ate, and watched the human.

That human stood in the doorway from the barn to the outside. I couldn't see him; I made out his shadow in the dirt and I heard him muttering into his device and then I sensed something else.

Sniff! SMOKE!

"'Ro? You wanting out again? Hey, stop banging about. I'll getcher door. You just have to ask, you know?"

"SMOKE!"

"Huh? Where?"

I knew where and wasted no more time. I dashed through the barn and leaped toward the man I knew held fire. He didn't hear or see me. His back was to me and he held that device to his ear with one hand, fire on a short stick glowing in the other. Above his head stated the rules clearly so even a horse could read it—NO SMOKING.

I roughed him up some, stamping out the glow of fire. I didn't hurt him. I could have and I knew better; I knew my limits.

_What?_ Now he was screaming bloody murder and holding his head, bleeding. A tiny scrape he got when he fell—I didn't do that! What a baby.

"Fuck! 'Ro! You go crazy here or what?"

"He had fire. I put it out. He's all right, and if he'd shut up I wouldn't feel like killing him."

"Don't. Do. It." Duo used a scary voice which broke through my fury with the human.

Suddenly people were all around us, some shouting. Shouting at me! A rope was lashed to my halter and I felt a yank.

"Duo! He had a glowing fire stick. Look in the straw. Look! Don't let him hide it!"

The last thing I saw before being led back to my stall was Duo's nose snuffling in the straw. I hoped my friend was as clever as I gave him credit for.

I was confused by the sudden activity around me. I calmed myself by reciting safety details. Ideally, hay and bedding should not be stored in the same building as horses, and actually, here, very little was and they maintained the hay storage area well, keeping it clean and dry. This place even collected rain water runoff from the gutter and stored it for fire control. I'd noticed that get filled and emptied with the storms. I'd skimmed the design manuals, mostly the pictures.

What else? There were dozens of highly visible fire extinguishers and the doors opened out for fast escape, for humans. It wouldn't do us any good if we were locked in. I was grateful for Duo's talents.

All of them, honestly. He rubbed my back and sheltered me from the sun and flies with that gorgeous tail of extraordinary length. He nibbled and scratched at all the right spots. He said the most encouraging things and looked up to me, sometimes. He could do more of that and I'd be happier. He was number 2 at the stables, but to me he was special; he was my number 1.

Trowa stuck out his head. "What's the ruckus?"

I explained how I'd put out fire.

"You hurt a human, though. They're pretty particular about that. Oversensitive to my mind. In the circus, headstrong stallions got sold."

"Thanks."

"Don't be too sad. You've been Howard's favorite all along. He won't let you go without a fight. 'Cuse me, Quatre's in a state."

I could hear his excited voice over the uproar of humans'. What a mess. I hadn't intended to turn the place upside down- just save us from a disaster. I may have over-played my role, but I didn't think so. Fire killed. I'd never forget the cries of my stable mates or the smell of burning horseflesh.

Quatre, Trowa and I stuck out our necks to the outside and still found it hard to hear. The Arabian could pitch his voice to carry the best. "They keep repeating things I don't understand, but I did hear your name over and over. They are very upset."

Great. "I put out the fire while it was only a smoldering end of a stick, that's why."

Quatre sniffed. "You did the right thing. Howard's got to see that. Um, where's Duo?"

"Saving number one's ass, we hope." Trowa reached for a rose bud from the thorny mess by the stable doors, clipped it neatly with his front teeth, and swung to the side to deliver it under the Arabian's nose.

And I really held onto that hope as the fear of being torn away washed over me. I didn't want to part with this home. Especially from Duo. I didn't want to be apart from him. The terror of it seized my breath. Because between my attack on the stable boy, justified or not, and the possibility of Lady Relena's threats, my being turned out suddenly sounded like a serious prospect.


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: In defense of my writing this extreme version of a GW story… Snowdragon made me do it, and Waterlily made me do it over and over again until it was right, heh, heh…love them both.

**Chapter Six—The More the Merrier**

**(0) Duo's POV**

I don't know why I was so good to him. Heero just ignored me. And after I'd nearly died! He saw me; he stared right at me, so I know I saw me. Hey, I looked terrific all clean and shiny in the sun, how could he not see me? I think I even spied a drop of drool hanging off his lip. Anyway, then he saw _her,_ his 'Lady', nearly broke his neck doing an about face, and then there he was wrapped in her lurve, baby.

He'd picked Relena over me. That was proof of how unimportant I was to him after all.

And I hadn't complained. I'd done most of the giving, but it hadn't bothered me until the Big Snub in front of our friends. Oh, yeah, I was "acceptable" as a meadow friend, a handy place to rest his head and a super sidekick who'd follow orders without question, and, like this time, he could count on me to get him out of a jam, but was I worthy of public recognition or deep affection? No-o way Jose.

Something like that. I'd thought things were going well, but the cold-shoulder was a real let down.

Call me a skeptic, but 'Ro certainly hadn't appeared to put much store in me, until he got himself into this latest fix. Still, loyal to a fault as I might be, I wouldn't let him down, no matter what.

So, I did what I could. I didn't want to lose him. I didn't want him getting sold off, sent away. I didn't want to lose another friend.

I heard Sunshine's voice, "Here he comes now!" and there they were, all three of them looking expectantly my way, making me wish I could understand what the humans had said so I could be sure, absolutely sure.

Heero's stare drilled holes through me, not that I blamed him. He had to be worried. I shuffled about half in and half out of my stall. As the humans scampered off to other duties, I moved into the walkway to more easily face them all.

"I did my best and I think Howard got the gist of what happened."

"You found the fire stick? You showed it to him?"

"Yeah, the stable chump was using his foot to push it under some straw, ya know? So the minute he moved I nosed it out and covered it with a hoof. Howard was babbling and I got his attention with a kiss—which works really well. Oh, and thanks, Spot, for teaching me that trick."

"My, ah, pleasure," Spot muttered under his breath. "Um, gotta go."

Heero swung his head about to level his glare at Spot. It occurred to me how our conversation could have been taken two ways, one wrong and one what I'd meant. Leave it to 'Ro to take it the wrong way. He mighta been a little more grateful.

"Like I said," I raised my voice to get his attention back, "he picked up what was left of the smoking stick, not that it was on fire anymore, but it was black and the straw around it charred."

"Howard noticed all that?"

"Yeah, and he looked pissed. The stable kid did a lot of fast talking, pointing to the door, as if he'd been outside when he lit up. Howard told me to go back to my stall, so to speak, and I did, and just caught sight of him and the kid marching away toward the house."

"But we don't know what he means to do about Heero!"

"No, Sunshine, thanks for bringing that up." And just when I'd gotten him to stop grinding his teeth!

Sunshine ducked his pretty flaxen head. "Oh! I'm sorry." His voice had gone all watery, and now the sun shone a little bit less brightly.

"Naw, my bad. You're right."

"But I don't feel anything really bad from Howard. I mean, from what I can sense, he's not terribly angry at Heero or any of us horses."

"Thanks, that helps." I meant it, too. Sunshine felt things strongly about people and horses sometimes that the rest of us didn't. "Let's hold on to that."

'Ro remained unreadable. "Thank you. You did all you could. We'll just have to wait now."

Not the ending of the day I'd hoped for.

We got around to our evening arrangements after that, Spot joining Sunshine in his stall being the norm now. I hung my head out the back, chewing on the last of my hay and looking at the stars, hanging bright in the sky. Without cloud-cover I knew it would be cold tonight. I'd noticed more brown than green grass in the meadow.

"Duo."

"Yeah, 'Ro?"

"I feel—" he snorted and scraped his feet fretfully. "Something's changed. Something's not right with us. I want it back the way it was."

Put in his rather blunt, but achingly honest way made me tear up; I missed our closeness, too. "Oh, yeah?"

"I think- no, I was _told_ I'd made a mistake greeting the lady before you. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, your little birdie told you right." I could see him and the stars were his background. My heart pounded with anticipation. He just smoldered with power and strength, closely guarded, mind you. "That kinda brought back old injuries: rejection, partings, loss."

"Where you said you'd come from, the city stable?"

"Yeah." What was he getting on about now?

"You left friends behind?"

Ugh. I'd not wanted to talk about this stuff, but then it all just came pouring out of my mouth. "No, no… they left me. They all died, 'Ro. One by one, they died of disease, starvation—and real fast! I thought for sure I'd be next. Solo, he was the last. He pulled a cart in the park, giving rides. I was to be trained and paired with him; he said so, but, well, you how it is with humans. Never know. Our owner smelled like sour fruit more times than not. Our food went south and our bedding not changed more than was needed, if you get my drift?"

"I-I can't imagine. Dead comrades, yes, I understand. Mine died in a fire, while I lived."

"Fire? No wonder—" _he was so vigilant_. My throat tightened and I went a little, well, hoarse. "But I could see you had to go where your bread gets buttered. We all do, don't we?"

"Bread? Forget it. I have no intention of leaving- willfully. I want to stay here, with you. I hope I didn't damage the stable boy in such a way that they think I'm a danger. I'd hate to cause you more…grief."

"Aw." How sweet, huh? He proved himself to be a brave and loyal friend. I stretched his way and touched noses. "Wanna come over and share my stall tonight?" I don't know what had come over me to suggest that.

He didn't snort me off, curiously; rather, he shocked me to the core by asking me over. "Mine's more private."

Yep. That would leave my stall and Spot's as barrier from the other two. "Okay."

Some horses I knew would lie down like Spot and Sunshine. Because I woke him up one morning, I knew first hand that Sunshine would lay flat out snoring, while his ears, legs and tail twitched, leaving me to wonder what he was dreaming. It made me think about something he'd mentioned to me. Maybe about his stablemate's spots migrating or, worse, infecting his lovely color like the plague?

But not Heero. He'd lock his legs and let his head and neck droop, and during deep sleep I'd watch his ears relax, eyes close and the lips droop. Pretty cute. Of course he didn't admit he ever slept. _He _only rested. Yeah, well, he wasn't fully conscious or aware of what was going on around him, so I called it sleep.

I was mostly a stander, too. But tonight took a different path. We stood awhile, stargazing, and then he started messing around with a lot of male posturing, and that climbing onto my back stuff. I'd seen Spot and Sunshine playing around that way, too. I figured it was just a game, but when I tried doing that to Heero—egads! Did he get rough!

"I mount _you,_ not the other way around," he insisted.

"Only if I _let_ you," I retorted.

"I'm the _leader_!"

"You gotta _catch_ me first."

And in the tiny space allotted us in the stall, I wasn't hard to catch. And he was strong so he pinned me more than once. It was an okay game, but he was heavy so I pitched him off into the straw.

"Enough," I told him, finally.

"Fine." He was all right with that, having "won" a few times, I guess, and then we both slumped to the soft straw.

Making up _was_ a lotta fun. I loved our horsing around, and he made a warm and solid pillow after getting all fired up.

**(o) Howard's POV**

I nearly strangled the kid for talking on his cell phone and lighting a cigarette around my horses. Even after explaining I had a horse who'd survived a barn fire and was particularly skittish, he lit a cigarette. Whether he'd stepped outside or not, the proof was on the barn floor. I didn't hesitate firing him immediately.

Duo surprised me. It was as if he could understand what was going on. At first, I'd thought he was begging for a snack, picking up the circus horse's kissing trick for attention. Now that apple slices were off his diet, he readily adapted to what was next best, carrots. But no. There he was poking around in the straw locating evidence, a once smoldering cigarette. I knew he and the Thoroughbred were close, but this was weird if he was helping him.

And I have to say I'd become concerned about our splendid Heero. Aggressive behavior in stallions was dangerous. He'd have to be monitored closely from here on out. This time his attack was arguably justified, but the next could be deadly.

And then there was the Darlian girl upset. Doctor J had been furious at Miss Relena's unexpected visit. Heero was ours! Her visit had distressed the horse, everyone could see that.

I hoped her threats with lawsuits was the result of an emotional outburst and not grounded in reality, because we'd fight to keep Heero.

Unless he became a liability.

Having witnessed the awe-inspiring expression of physical force generated by two stallions fighting, I can't help but wonder at our ability to harness such elemental power. There is certainly no doubt at all that stallions who learn to dominate humans by force can easily become dangerous to work with and homicidal in extreme cases. It is little wonder how stallions have also attracted a certain amount of 'bad press'. Still, I refuse to let that color my opinion of these horses, and Heero in particular.

I checked my watch. Did I have time to look in on the horses? I had left them so suddenly last night, and it wasn't good to abandon such emotional animals like that, especially Heero.

"Mr. Howard, sir?"

"Yes?"

"He's humping Duo again."

"That's okay."

"Are they gay?"

"No, son, they're not homosexual; Heero is trying to establish dominance and herd position."

"It looks pretty weird for just guys, you know?"

"It's just behavior that happens in bachelor groups with no access to mares. Without access to heterosexual activity, many stallions mount other stallions and others adopt mare-like heat display to entice other stallions."

"It's still pretty weird."

"Then don't look." I had too much to do to worry about my staff's sensitivities.

The phone rang and I let my secretary in the inner office pick up. I wanted to see Heero before I was delayed again. It was not to be, though.

"Excuse me, sir. Call is for you- an agent of a Chinese general."

"Chinese general? Sounds intriguing. All right." I punched the "call waiting" button. "Hello, Howard here. What can I do for you?"

We quickly moved past the opening pleasantries.

"The general breeds top quality horses. Tip top. We have a stallion, marvelous Akhal-Teke specimen, but—"

There was always a "but."

"He refused his chosen mare. Naturally, if he's not good for breeding, he's no longer of use to the stud program, and we have others just as fine for show. The general has proven studs eager to mount the heir to the Long blood line and will not waste food on a stubborn beauty."

This I had to see. Akhal-Teke with noteworthy bloodlines were rare in Sanc. I'd go as far as saying they were non-existent to date. "We are highly selective and will have to see your stallion before making up our minds."

"As one would expect."

After that it was up to his staff to make arrangements with mine for delivery, and our conversation concluded. I immediately rang Master O, who hadn't a horse of his own. Another engineer who was part of the Sanc-tuary ownership team, Master O was completely bald and had an imposing stature and musculature from his martial arts activities. His tastes ran toward the military and exotic, and possibly this horse would suit him to a "T".

"Master O, I may have just located the mount for you-"

**(o) Duo's POV**

Howard eventually came out to the stable and talked to 'Ro, making the poor guy feel better, I think. At least he left him untied so he could move freely around his stall. Of course, I untied him every chance I got, but I wanted Howard to forgive Heero.

When the guy offered him apple slices, I knew things would be all right. I don't know if Heero took any; I found a couple still in with his feed later that night, and he let me have them. The whole ordeal had left him low and killed his appetite.

We snuggled together again that night, but he remained quiet, mulling over the day and everything that had happened. No games this time.

The next few days after that a new stable boy came on board and gradually things returned to normal. If they were looking to get rid of Heero, it wasn't happening right away. I felt the humans watching him more closely, but he was so well-disciplined and even tempered, they had to forgive and forget, right?

And our little ray of Sunshine told Heero that Howard loved and admired him so much he had nothing to worry about. That hadta have made him feel a little better.

One afternoon, Sunshine and Heero romped about the arena, showing off their fancy gaits, while I was entertaining my buddy Spot, though not on purpose, as I fumbled with the main gate latch. Once I figured this one out, we'd be able to wander up to the house and other outbuildings, something Heero wanted to do. The design required two hands with fingers to operate with a spring-action clip that snapped back into place before I could raise the lever.

"You could help," I told the clown on the umpteenth failure.

"I could—"

"Get over here and look." I should have known the moment Spot came within touching distance of me, Heero would stop everything he'd been doing and come over to investigate, and Sunshine, too. Now I'd have a full audience. "Show Sunshine how clever a horse you are and look smart."

"I am smart. I can count."

"Great. Then count while you do this. When I pull back on this gadget, you gotta push up on this other one with your nose—got it?"

Hilarious horse that he was, he stopped his "counting" to remark, "-Four, five … move your fat ass so I can."

Now, Sunshine, he might stand and watch politely, holding back on his curiosity once he was sure everything was okay.

Not my Heero. "What's going on?" he demanded to know everything all the time.

"We're gonna open this gate now. Onna count of..."

"Three, for Trowa!"

"Thanks Sunshine. Okay, three."

We weren't as adept at the timing as I'd hoped. The third try got it open, though, just as the humans came exiting the house like bees from a hive, so we shut it fast and looked stupid just standing there lined up in pairs.

Then a trailer pulled up and a great whirlwind of human activity took place in the drive right before our eyes.

I heard Heero gasp and realized he must have thought they were preparing to take him away. Sunshine must have understood, because he pointed out, "It's okay. Look the trailer is not empty. There's a horse inside."

A new horse.

Heero pushed between Spot and me to get a better look, and Sunshine eased up on Spot's far side.

"Oooh! Pretty!"

"Yeah, but not beautiful, like you."

Heero gagged.

Spot was such a charm-tongued clown; I wondered how Sunshine could stand it. One look and I could see Sunshine just gleaming like butter and nickering his happy thoughts, lapping up the honey.

To each his own.

Not that I would _object_ to a few compliments from Heero.

**(o) Howard's POV**

First of all the horse was gold. Metallic gold. His ankles were taped in black, a sword holder hung off his shoulder, sword missing. His dark forelock pulled back and bound in a complex weave with the thin, black mane, which- along with the tail wound in black leather one third of the way down- gave this horse a severe appearance.

"His name is Dragon."

He stood at attention, head erect, unmoved by the fly teasing his nose until it reached a lip, and then only the lip flipped and the fly was history. One ear flicked off another fly and there was an involuntary shiver of his skin when another teased him. The gleaming animal impressed me immediately with his poise, and gravity.

"Odd styling of the mane," I observed.

"Formal parade form- and I advise you keep it that way. He is used to having his mane out of his eyes. Won't tolerate obscuration of vision."

I would let the groom deal with that problem. I couldn't believe this proud horse was prissy. "He and Heero can compete for most disciplined, don't you think, Master O?"

Master O smiled and seemed unable to stop petting the gleaming fur. Yes, he was very, very excited over this horse. "Dragon? Ridiculous name, even corny and stereotypical. Wufei! We'll call him Wufei, our fifth!"

Wufei looked like a warrior, but he was a parade horse who'd never seen a battle.

"I'd like to put him through his paces, next."

**(o) Duo's POV**

"Looks like we's _gots_ outselves an aristocrat in our midst," Spot observed in a funny put-on accent he claimed reflected his origins, whatever those were.

"He has that look," Heero agreed. He gave away little of what he was thinking.

Howard led the shimmery stuck-up horse toward us, we who were standing in the path to the arena. Oh, yeah, the grand horse's narrow squinty eyes widened enormously as he got a look at us.

"What expressive eyes!"

I thought our little ray of Sunshine had that right. I wondered if he felt his flesh sear like I did as that fiery gaze cut past us.

"What did we do to him?" Spot wondered. I guess he didn't care for the contemptuous glare either.

Sunshine shook his mane and backed up a little. "He's just frightened and I think we are making him uncomfortable with our staring."

"I don't give a rat's ass." Spot was unsympathetic, and oddly Heero winced, making me wonder if he had a thing for rats, coarse language, or appearing heartless. "Any horse that looks like him is used to being the center of attention."

Then the sun came out from behind a cloud and the newcomer actually glowed. I know I gasped aloud. "Wow! Now that's a horse of a different color! He looks like a metal statue I've seen in a big downtown park."

Howard put him on a long rope and had him run around in the arena.

"Magnificent," a word I hadn't heard Heero utter many times, if ever, and never about me.

Well, shucks.

"Nice action," Spot conceded, "free and flowing."

"Yes, he has a soft, gliding, elastic stride." True, but Sunshine always found a way to agree with his night-time cell mate.

The gait-testing didn't last for long and then Howard led the new stallion our way for introductions, I was guessing.

"Hi," I said, being the friendly horse I was.

The statue snorted. Pompous twit.

After a careful examination, I guess they judged him good enough to get his name nailed above a stall in our stable. Not accounting for his character, I guess, but then humans were poor at that.

"Number 5." I think Heero was proud of his reading ability and liked to show off this skill to the new horse.

"What are you talking about?" Number five snapped.

"And your name is 'Woo-fay'."

"It is _now_. I'm Dragon. I'll always be Dragon from a long line of Dragons."

"I am Heero, number one."

"Heero's won all kinds of ribbons in dressage," I commented then immediately wished I'd kept my mouth shut. My friend wished I'd done the same, from the look he gave me. It's just something about the new stallion that made me feel the need to defend everyone's worth to him with endorsements.

Those black-as-midnight eyes pierced me again. "We were originally bred as war mounts, now the Akhal-Teke is competitive in endurance, dressage, jumping and eventing. I am proficient in them all."

_We_? Ack-hal-tiki? Well, la-de-da. What kindova breed was that? Just great— well, I wasn't really in the mood for a creative intimidation competition. We'd made it a game of one-upmanship, which I would have to end right off. "You can get down off your high horse and call me Duo, Goldie."

He was gold. He certainly wasn't a dragon.

I gotta snort instead. Another snort.

Heero pretended to ignore us and continued with the introductions. "Duo is number two. Trowa is number three, and Quatre, number four."

Goldie focused on the view in the distance.

"That's our pasture. Come for a walk." The way Heero said it, though, was more of an order than a request. Now was the time to assert his authority, or forsake it.

Sunshine seemed all gung-ho to help out. He trotted around to my side. "While there's still some green grass with dew, let's go, Duo."

"And dandelions," Spot added for enticement and stepped in line.

I had hoped the snob would stay behind, but he didn't. Probably couldn't wait to show off his high-falutin' qualities. He walked alongside Heero; I was close behind, and heard him say, "Where I lived there was grass as far as the eyes could see."

Yeah, well, horses don't see so well or far, so that boast didn't buy him any admirers. He even managed to annoy Heero enough to spark a smart remark from him.

"If you can see that well, you might see the wild horses, like Trowa can."

Heh, heh.

Heero urged him slip through the gate after the rest of us- and by _urging_ I meant his wordless, goading "nip and kick", "bridge no further argument" method to drive us in his chosen direction- before launching himself onto the path over the meadow, and the race was on.

Apparently, golden-boy liked to race, and compete. He took off like a cat whose tail had just been stomped.

"Yay!" So did our little Sunshine.

Heero won, of course. He was exceeding fast. Sunshine and the stuck-up Goldie tied for second, Spot come in third, and I was a close last. I hadn't gotten all my strength back, which made me think of apples and look around for the trees.

"They're gone." Sure enough, where I'd once gorged on sweet apples until near death, there now lay a pile of logs and a few shriveled fruit mummies, not worth a nibble.

"They were gone the last time—" Sunshine spit out the tail to his face, then clammed up as 'Ro gave him the evil eye.

So, I wasn't supposed to notice. I was supposed to forget the trees. Well, I had faulty self-control when it came to food. But Howard didn't have to have killed the trees. That was sad. I felt bad for the trees whose demise was my fault. Nice trees.

Spot bumped up against me. "There's others."

"Other apple trees?"

He nodded. "Next year. We'll go for a walk."

I thought I heard a snide, "What's his problem?" behind my back. I wanted a moment longer to mourn my tree, not to have to come up with smart comebacks to snotty comments from a horse with a bee up his ass.

I was tempted to ask golden-boy for a meadow comparison—was his bigger, greener, less pock-marked with gopher holes? But every time I started to talk, Heero checked me and the others curbed the conversation to the declining grass quality— past its best with the season's progression-; insects—mercifully, fewer flies-; and the weather—cooling down with dampness on the wind.

I got the point. No one wanted me to rile the new stable mate. _Don't make waves, Duo_. Waves of what, I ask you? Grain? I'd like them to deny that me making _waves_ of grain by the cartload would be a good thing!

As it turned out, Goldie preferred to eat in silence, off to himself. Fine by me.

When Heero deemed it was time to return, based on the sun angle, he said, and not a human clock, he said pointedly looking at Spot. We all moved out of consideration for his position as leader, all but the new horse. Heero forced Goldie to move as well. Both seemed determined to have their way, but while Heero wasn't afraid to bite, our golden dragon wasn't about to be marked, so he reluctantly stepped into line.

Waiting in the sun this day, stood our groom with an array of hair products and assortment of brushes and trimming tools arranged on a table; he looked ready and waiting to look after our needs.

"I won't need him," Goldie protested. "I was already cared for prior to coming…here."

I nearly told the arrogant ass that he'd be lucky if the groom gave him a second glance, but Heero stifled me with a hunk of straw to the mouth, and nudged me to the head of the line. My tail and mane did take the longest to dry, so I didn't grumble. I muttered and crunched and spat out the dried, musty stuff. _Bleh!_

Apparently, I had said some of what I'd been thinking aloud, and now Sunshine was explaining how I hadn't meant to insult "Wufei" by comparing him to a long-eared, low-class, probably sterile ass. I hadn't, but now I wish I had.

Spot went on about the donkeys and mules in the circus, and how they did the heavy lifting. "One day …one fell into a river…" I missed quite a bit of the joke as water washed over my head. I caught the ending, which went, "so you can kiss your ass goodbye."

Heero snorted and shook his mane, so it must have been a good one.

The wash down felt great; the comb out, well, I could tolerate it with the globs of conditioner used. I kept my eyes closed during most of the session to eliminate the stinging and through the de-tangling and often dosed while the thickest portions were dried with a human hand-held blower. I drifted in a comfortable zone between consciousness and siesta-time, until I heard a loud huff and snort from the new horse.

He'd been looking me over. I have to admit I'm a sight with my luxurious black forelocks, long, black thick mane and feathery tail deliberately left untrimmed so it dragged on the ground. I knew my hair distinguished me, because when the wind blew, Heero'd said I looked like a storm cloud— pretty sweet coming from him.

Okay, so I got one stinking little compliment. I sure wasn't **magnificent.** I was a wet thing in the sky. I was dark, though. Om-in-ous.

"Are those hair extensions?" Goldie asked, voice dripping with disdain.

"Say _what?"_

"It all can't be real."

_The_ _hell_! "It sure is! All me, mine, and always."

And then he licked his chops. He really did. And then and there I knew Howard was letting in a hair chewer.

Solo'd snacked on my mane once or twice, until the owner drenched me in some obnoxious smelling product. That discouraged him. It discouraged me from wanting to live, too, putting me off my feed, but after a day or two the stench wore off and I got back my chomping buddy. The next thing I knew, I was being liberally dosed with cayenne pepper- talk about your _hotty tamales_. It turned out that Solo preferred the other horse's tail for chewing and left me alone after that.

Now I had me a new mane masticator to squash.

"Is there a problem?"

"Not yet," I told Heero before he could assert himself between us.

"Oh, Heero! Calm down!" Sunshine whinnied the warning. Too late.

The groom hailed over more help and Heero suddenly found himself with a rope on his halter.

"Not necessary," he muttered.

And then Goldie spoke. "The humans think so. They think you're potentially dangerous and willful. They are afraid you'll attack me, or them, to protect…him."

The "him" he meant was me.

Spot asked how he figured that and Goldie said, "I understand humans and what they say."

Well, damn. Whaddya know about that? He was a keeper after all!

**Horse Notes:**

The Akhal-Teke is one of the most ancient and unique breeds of the world. In Chinese legends it was known as the "heavenly horse" and the "horse that sweats blood". The Teke tribesmen took great pride producing a breed of ancient lines and great purity. The horses developed endless stamina, the ability to withstand great extremes of temperature and to subsist on small amounts of food and water. They become devoted to their master and are suspicious of strangers. This horse is notable for its unique hair. In the sunlight, the coat glitters metallic gold caused by the structure of the hair- the opaque core is very reduced in size and may in areas be altogether absent and t The transparent part of the hair (the medulla) takes up this space, and acts like a light-pipe, bending light through one side of the hair and refracting it out the other side, often with a golden cast.


	7. Chapter 7

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to Waterlily for all her funny, funny ideas and contribution of Quatre's dowry trunk, and for her steadfast editing.

**Chapter Seven— Trouble in Paradise **

**(o) Wufei's POV**

"No way!" he whinnied. Number Two didn't believe me when I said I understood the language of humans.

"It is true, believe me or not."

"Not what I meant. Aw, don't go flying off the handle in some rage or the other."

Why would he assume I'd do such a thing? I was under perfect control. I never "flew", either.

"I was talking about what you'd said, that the humans still think 'Ro's dangerous. One little incident with a stupid kid and they blow it outta proportion."

"They are aware of our greater power and fear the day they think we realize how little it takes to kill them."

This was one of the secret truths the aged masters taught me. Why I was sharing this with this rather ordinary stallion, with the extraordinary hair, I didn't know.

"Huh. Well, nothing's gonna mess with this setup. It's fat city."

His manner of speech perplexed me and Number Three, who'd been watching us, knew it. He shook his mane and curled a lip. "You'll catch on to the urban lingo."

I wanted to do nothing of the sort.

"We'll fight fire with fire!" Number Two ranted on.

"What?" Number One woke up to the conversation.

"Um, sorry, 'Ro. I meant when things get desperate we'll, ah—"

"Respond in like manner. I have seen men stop a grass fire by burning paths around it." I snorted, letting him know just how unlikely it would be for us to fight the humans over anything and change their course of action.

Unlocking the mystery to human speech, opened a way to a confusion of proceedings. They often didn't do what they said they would.

I had always known I was special. Human speech, a confusion of gibberish and single, barked commands to every other living creature, made sense to me. Generally. As one would expect, much of the time humans had nothing of interest or importance to say, but occasionally they made their plans clear.

Looking back, I could see how this gift had been both a good thing and a bad. I'd failed to mount Meiran, the perfect mate to extend the Dragon clan into the future. I had had no interest in females, preferring to train for the march to war and to battle.

_Why couldn't they just use me for what I was best qualified to do?_

Imagine my shock then when I discovered I was to be given away. Not sold—given away.

_For free! The injustice! I was worth something!_

If I wouldn't breed for them, the men had said, I wouldn't be allowed to breed for anyone. My new owners had apparently agreed to keep me in an all-stallion herd, which had been of some comfort to me, providing the other horses were of uncommon stock as well. Of course, I had been given no choice.

And there I was - to be stabled with strangers, likely some rag-tag group- whether it met with my approval or not.

To mock me further, my past owners took away the sword at my side, but left me with the empty scabbard, and my new owners threw me to the wolves as soon as the previous ones were out of sight and hearing.

_How insulting!_

I'd thought I'd be confined to my own part of the stable for a week or two, but I overheard the man in charge, Howard, say to the man who would ride me—at least he was a scholar and a doctor- that he'd "… found it's better just to let them all get to know each other without us interfering or trying to introduce them gradually. So far, they've seemed to sort themselves out."

_As I said, thrown to the wolves. _

I saw no stigma to being the outsider. I had no incentive to behave according to any rules but my own and those of humans I deemed worthy; most everyone was beneath my dignity to recognize, even to scorn.

Number One suffered no arguments, however. His speed and strength were beyond that of any other horse I'd ever met. He had a kick that was unbelievably swift and a stinging nip if you crossed him; if _I _crossed him, that is. I noticed his moves were entirely playful toward Number Two, which was completely unfair. What made _him_ second?

He was attractive and black. I'd never seen an all-black horse, and never, _ever_ one with hair like that. My mouth watered at the sight—and he saw. He couldn't read minds, so he couldn't have known what I had been thinking, but he saw how I'd looked over his mane.

I'd have to be careful.

Number One protected him.

I felt comfortable in the company of Number Three, who he acted as if he wasn't there. His hair was the shortest of all, too, so I wasn't as tempted to get close. But chiefly, his laconic attitude made it easy to overlook his existence. One couldn't miss him in the arena, those spots bobbing around, but in the dry grass the spots acted as camouflage. He disappeared- a rock until he moved, which he didn't do much. He was economical in movement as well as terse in speech. He informed me that Duo was clever and a trickster so I was to watch out, in two words, "Mind Duo."

I most certainly would keep an eye on the black stallion, especially his hair.

Number Four was a mystery to me. He was extremely well-bred and as fast a runner as I. He could have been a Number One, but he wasn't. He was soft and gentle-spirited. He would give me no problems, I suspected.

And then a human turned a hose on me! What was this? Injustice! Shampoo as well? Stallions are strong and manly! They do not need special deep conditioning treatment that smells of strawberries or polish to make the hooves gleam like gold! Well, that last part wasn't so bad.

I was Dragon clan. I could take any discomfiture and indignity that they might inflict upon my body. My mind was mine!

To give the other stallions credit, they were suitably impressed with my skill at understanding humans. And Number One read their written words. And Number Three, I was led to believe, grasped their time and numbers concept beyond mere counting! If Numbers Two and Four were also talented, then possibly, just possibly, there was justification for my being here.

My stall was at the far end, making me the guard there, a most important position and one I would bear with all the fortitude I could. My stall was roomy and comfortable, but too soft with a cushioned floor and deep piles of fresh, sweet hay. I would suffer it, since I had no other choice.

The food seemed unremarkable—what was that sweet syrupy goodness gluing together the grain?—and possibly insufficient, but I could abide near starvation for weeks. I was Dragon.

Although I heard the other horses thrashing about and talking to all hours of the night, no one bothered me much to my relief. It sparked my curiosity, of course, but I wasn't a meddlesome snoop. Maybe they would fight and bleed to death and then settle down. I'd had an event-filled day and thoroughly enjoyed the privacy and isolation the evening brought.

I would meditate the horrors of the day away: being packed into a stuffy, bumping trailer, hauled away from my clan like so much garbage, unceremoniously de-sworded, and finally begin life in a new home by being pushed into familiarity with an assortment of odd-ball stallions.

_The injustice!_

I was rudely awakened by a noise at my stall door. The sun had barely risen, but dawn it was. _Where had the time gone?_ I expected it to be a human eager to get started cleaning my stall, but instead there was a thick fall of black mane inches from my face and horse-lips messing with my door latch. I couldn't resist.

_Snack time._

"Hey! You ripped out my hair, you ungrateful cud-grinder!"

"I do not chew a cud, you ignorant man-mount, and I did not rip out your hair," I maintained; although, I had to chew fast to slip the tell-tale long wisps past my lips.

"It sure felt like it. I shoulda just let you stew in here by yourself all day and miss the fun, 'cept that 'Ro wanted me to let you out."

_Fun?_ I would have preferred to die rather than miss "the fun", but I wouldn't give Number Two the satisfaction of knowing how he'd piqued my interest. "I couldn't care less. You should wait for the human to let us outside. It might not be safe."

"Safe? Heh! We fly in the face of safe."

"What is he talking about? Horses do not fly," I prompted Number Four, my next door neighbor who'd poked his head in from the other door.

But it was Number Three who provided the translation services. "He means like a hen that flies in the face of an attacking fox."

"Oh!" Four brightened. "Like we faced off lions in the pasture!"

_Lions!_ _Impossible._ "Nonsense!"

"_Mountain _lions," Number Three corrected from outside. "C'mon, before it rains and the girls get in a tizzy."

"What girls?" I smelled no mares anywhere.

"Just sayin'. You'll see."

The pastureland was trampled brown grass punctuated by stands of coarse weeds bent in the wind. I could imagine it lush with fresh spring grass, making my mouth water for the taste. It wasn't so much different from the home I'd left, possibly warmer. Aside from the human outpost, which was my new home, there was nothing but wild land for as far as I could see. The wind carried scents, traces of dampness, sharp herbs, dust, and an aftertaste of meadow grass and the sounds of insects humming, rodents burrowing, and birds crying overhead and indistinctly.

What I didn't see, smell, or hear were mares. Not that I was wishing for any. On the contrary; it would make any mare-crazy stallions boorish to the extreme - if there were any. and, considering the possible ramifications of the noisy "thrashing about" activity going on from the other side of the stable, and to which I was subjected to at night, I seriously doubted my stable mates were interested.

Anyway, females were bossy and demanding- in spite of being weaker. No, the grazing land reverberated with the lovely sounds of nature, and was mercifully mare-free. What I did hear was Number Two. He talked constantly.

"Damnit, Spot-buddy, you just manured the last patch of green."

"Pardon? Oh, that. That was a thistle."

"A thistle? Oh, so it was. That's A-okay then, sorry."

"No offense taken."

"It was all so nice and green when I first came," Number Four said with a sigh of mourning, practically. If that were true, then Number Four must have come the season before my arrival. Not long at all. "Now, it's all dry and brown and dull."

"About to become less boring." Number Three sniffed the air. "Rain's coming fast."

Number One pushed the lovely-haired black horse with his nose. "Home time."

"Hey, quit pulling!"

"I'm pushing, not pulling."

I noticed his tail was snagged on a patch of thorns, and raced to pull alongside. "You're caught up. Be still and I'll free you."

"Oh, no you don't!" He tugged, threatening to rip the hair off.

_And what a waste that would be! Can't have that._ I clipped it neatly with my teeth.

"See! SEE? He's after my hair! He'll eat _me _if I'm not careful!"

Even Number One knew that was ridiculous and came to my defense. "He freed your tail from a bramble so you can go, idiot. Now go!"

Thunder rumbled and a whip-crack of lightening split the sky. We all darted down the hill in a mad dash.

We ran into a downpour.

Number Four had a conniption fit. "It's got my legs!" he kept screaming and kicking madly at the limp grass tangling in wet strands around his ankles.

"Just a little further." Number Three urged him ahead with a patience I wouldn't have had. "Stay on the path."

"But it's muddy!"

"Just a little."

"Look! It's getting all over my shiny hooves!" the yellow horse whined. "Wufei was right. I should have waited for the stable boy. He would have seen to my hoof covers."

_Of course I'd been right! _

Killing him at that moment would have felt satisfyingly justifiable, except that he'd just credited me my due.

"It comes off."

"It's icky!"

"It washes off and you'll be good as new."

The whining sniveler sniffed. "I like sand better."

Ah, he was from the desert. The finest Arabians came from there, I'd heard. Still, the stallion was weak like a… mare. At last I understood what Number Three had meant about girls in a tizzy. There were no females to be found in the meadow, but there were weaklings. This was one of them.

Number Two was the other and having his own hissy fit.

"For crying' out loud, 'Ro! I'm not asking for much, just pick up the end and hold it outta the mud. That's all."

"I don't tote tails. It's too undignified."

"You wouldn't think so if you had to endure the torture of a comb out."

"The groom could cut it out."

_What? Cut that spectacular tail? Not on my watch!_ I stretched my neck, catching up the dragging tip in my lips and fought back the urge to chew—so hard, so hard to do—while carrying it high and dry. I held it lightly in my half-open mouth. A gentle touch.

I heard a voice coming up from behind, "I'll take that," and then the tail was gone. The lovely tail gone, whisked away by the leader, leaving me with the taste but not the victory… oh, one hair stuck to my tongue. Not so bad after all.

"Thanks. Sorry 'bout getting so whacked about getting mud in my tail."

Number Two looked so relieved with his tail held high and Number Four so distressed as he pranced over the potholes, shaking off the loose mud and snorting, I felt nauseated all the way back to our barn.

There was the hose-boy poised to clean us up.

_What a pair of wussy stallions! _"Have you no shame? Disgusting behavior." The words just popped past my lips.

Suddenly, I had a nose in my face and saw spots before my eyes. "He's used to walking on sand, rather than on the muddy ground. He'd been given little boots the first couple of times it rained and he freaked out when he muddied his hooves- and he was fine with that."

I was stunned to silence at his sudden defensive reaction, mostly because the spotted horse had strung so many words together. Oh, well, I lifted a foot as required, while a groom washed and thoroughly dried all our hooves. That actually felt luxuriously nice, but totally unnecessary. With a little time, I could have worked off all the mud on my own, like a real warrior stallion should.

At least only Number Four had the added disrespect of having to wear lace-frilled booties. He seemed calmer wearing the now unnecessary things and didn't seem at all embarrassed at having to wear them as he struggled to put his thoughts into words.

"I-it's not just the mud. The stringy things around my legs are terrible—like, like wire."

With the mud gone I could make out the scars circling his ankles. "Those are wire-fencing cuts," I said aloud and cringing slightly. _Why did I find it so compelling that needed to visualize acts of violence? _ I felt sorry for him and fought back images of the cruelty he'd once faced.

He nodded. "I ran away. It was awful and I was scared."

A soft voice came from behind, not so gently pushing me aside. "Winner stables was a long time ago. You're all right now." And Number Three nuzzled his neck while leading the distraught stallion away from me.

Number Two had his tail wound into a quick braid that was subsequently doubled up and tied with a bow, another horror, on his rump. And Number One nudged me further away. I hadn't realized how close I'd gotten to the loose mane. _What was it about his hair that beckoned me like a bucketful of sugar cubes?_

A jarring human voice by my ear gained my attention. "I want all these muddy areas including the barn entrances, lanes, and gates re-surfaced." Howard spoke into a "phone" communicator. "Yes, I know it's expensive. Consider installing geotextile fabric under the gravel to allow water to drain down and stop mud from working up through the gravel."

_Sound advice. _I found Howard to be a competent stable manager.

And then I noticed I was alone. Oh, I could tolerate the rebuff – all the rejections. We of the Dragon clan stood strong when met with a sudden setback. It didn't bother me in the least that the other horses refused my company; not until I overheard the Howard man muttering something about, "We'll wait and see if Wufei's a bad influence on the others."

_Bad influence? Me? The shame! Was there no justice to be found here?_

We were kept inside the rest of the morning, not because of the rain but because of the danger of lightning strikes. From what I could understand, next to the barn containing our stalls was a large indoor arena. That was something I'd find familiar, having performed inside many times. It had been under construction up until now, I guessed, with some of the interior features awaiting completion, but, Howard deemed, today would be a suitable day for us to take our exercise indoors and initiate it.

I would display my exemplary manners, allow the other horses to enter first, preserving my rear-guard position, should the leader permit me, and demonstrate I could get along. If Number Four had only been here a short time, perhaps the others weren't as tight a company as I'd thought at first. Maybe they'd all had a settling in time. Well, mine would be brief. I might not chummy up, but I would definitely not be to blame for personality misfits and disputes!

_And that's the end of that nonsense!_

Everything started out as anticipated.

Our individual stalls backed up to a deep barn, which in turn opened into the nearly completed arena. We passed through the double doors into the gigantic indoor space.

_What a grand arena we had! _

Number Three snorted loudly, saying under his breath, 'I feel like I'm back at the circus."

I had no clear picture of a circus or what one was like, but I assumed it was big and spacious. From another entrance,five professional men of differing body shapes and dispositions joined us. _Ah, at last, all our owners, I presume. _I recognized Master O.

Once saddled, my chest warmed with pride to have the tall forceful-looking man take up my reins. _Only I was a suitable steed for Master O!_

We all enjoyed a pleasant few hours of exercise before being set free to examine the building on our own. Not totally alone. I noticed a stable boy, groom, the farrier, or Howard passing in and out—watching.

"Sand!" Number Four didn't bother hiding his emotions. _No pride at all._ He skipped and tossed his mane and tail in the air like a young colt.

Number Three actually knelt to the ground and rolled over the floor and bounced back to his feet in a manner that would have looked ungainly for me but for him was acrobatic. _What a show off!_

I simply couldn't watch their antics any longer without comment, so I bit my tongue and searched for a distraction. _There it was._ "I see jumping fences stacked to the side."

"You do, where?" It was Number One who was interested. I nosed over to the right and he shook his mane. "Good."

Oh, he was excited. He tamped down his emotions and tried to conceal the slight flaring of his nostrils—all done in a masculine way by redirecting attention.

I'd done something right and he had noticed. Now what was he doing?

Heero had located a thick book with worn pages and a drawing on the cover which looked like a complicated box.

"What is that?" I asked.

"These are the architectural designs for the arena. It's… supported by the patented EagleBeams, whose rounded edges provide more safety for horse and rider by eliminating sharp, angular corners."

Number two lifted his nose out of the flooring material. "Whadda eagles haveta do with beams, kinda stupid, you know? This is weird-smelling dirt."

"It's not dirt," I told him.

"It's sa-and!" the silly one sang as he continued to dance around with the spotted one.

Number One nosed through chicken-scratched paper only he and humans could make sense of and stopped at another page. "Here's the spec's on the flooring. Listen up. First, it's an artificial surface."

"Well, duh."

He ignored Number Two for a change and read on. "Plastic grid flooring provides a permeable floor plus a level, stable, durable surface. Most plastic grid floors are laid over a well-draining subsurface… Usually, the holes in the grid are filled with stone dust."

"It's sand!"

"Tsubarov Lab Surfaces is the original manufacturer of polymer-coated, dust-free footings engineered from meticulously selected sand, blended with micro poly-fibers and coated with a viscoelastic polymer."

I joined the others looking dumbfounded. Number One shook it off, saying, "I think the doctors who ride us work at Tsubarov Labs. The tags on their coats say so."

"Oh."

"OH! Look! It's a walker!"

_Preserve me, ancestors!_ Number Four found another reason to whinny and squeal with delight. Had his enthusiasm no bounds? _So unseemly!_

"You hop on and the human helper turns it on and the floor moves and you walk without going anywhere. It's a horse exerciser."

Either no one believed him or understood him, because no one said a thing for a few seconds, then it was Number Two who cleared his throat.

"Um, cool, um, I think?"

_Obviously a stupid human contrivance. No horse would take a walk for the purpose of getting nowhere. _

"Quatre!"

"Howard is calling you," I told him.

"I recognize my name, thank you."

Two sweaty men dragged in a trunk—it wasn't so large; I could have carried it on my back and run a marathon—and dropped it on the floor. Number Four stood alongside Howard, while the rest of us looked on, me from a distance.

"I guess Sheikh Winner has been feeling so guilty about getting rid of you that he's sent a whole wardrobe along," Howard was saying. "Let's see what's inside."

Number One stared at me expectantly. I guess I wasn't completely unworthy of his company. Free of charge, I did a quick translation: "His things sent from his previous owner."

The name "Winner" was familiar. There was an renowned stable… this "Quatre" was a Winner-stable Arabian? They were famous for their incomparable stock. An oversight on my part. His value rose several points from my previous estimation, but then did that actually compensate for his other shortcomings? Clearly, not. I'd heard of the Winner Warrior stallions and that it was no wonder that they'd kicked out this one for being so inadequate.

"Oh! There's my blankie and my very special feeding bowl… and my sleeping cushion to pillow my head!"

All monogrammed "QRW".

He blinked up at number 3 and added in a cloying sweet voice, "Not that I require one better than you, any more."

No decorum. At. All.

"—My lovely ribbons!" Oh, just lots of different colored silk ribbons and scarves. "You can use them like this as fly whisks!"

_Just look at him flinging those priceless silks about like so much straw! Why wasn't Howard preserving these things? _

"And they're so pretty! And they flutter in the breeze and the silk feels soo good!"

_The man should take the trunk away. Immediately._

"- lots of coins and little golden ornaments for festivals, of course. I love dressing up! It used to be my favorite thing….everyone would say how beautiful I was!"

Number Three dodged the flying streamers fairly well. "You still are. You don't need these things."

_Understatement! No one needs those things!_

Number One's mouth hung open in a very undignified way. I think his eyes had crossed.

Number Two, well, his eyes had bugged out to frog proportions and his mouth had snapped shut, for which I was eternally grateful. I don't think he'd ever seen horse paraphernalia of this quality and in this quantity before. He probably had no idea what the things were for and most likely hadn't the imagination to appreciate them either.

A few of the ribbons Number Four had tossed into the air landed over the face of Number Three, who couldn't complain with his mouth filled with something filmy and pink.

"…I don't know what to do with all this," one of the doctors said.

"Quatre seems to." Howard was marveling at the things. "We could share them out, if he wouldn't mind?"

"But they're all marked with his initials, both his new name and his sireline."

Ah, so he definitely was a Winner Warrior Arabian. _What a bitter disappointment for that establishment. Too bad. No. This was an outrage_. _Such conspicuous consumption! Intolerable wastage!_

"Should we let the horses get into all this?" the doctor asked.

"They don't appear to be doing any harm to the things and the Arabian seems pleased to show them off."

_Well, Howard, __**think**__ again._

Number Four seemed unaffected, as if he didn't see anything out of the ordinary about flaunting all this frippery.

Number One finally came out of his hypnotic state—_to read labels! _" Mane & Tail Bling allows riders to add just the right amount of sparkle to their horse's mane or tail."

"Oh, yes! My Swarovski crystal-embellished elastic bands." He tugged at the pink froth in Number Three's mouth. "That's one of my lovely silk face and leg panels to protect me from sun damage. The fringed mask goes over the face and is marvelous for keeping out pesky flies when your hair is all braided. You have GOT to get one of those-."

This left the stunned horse to snort a nose-full from a partially opened bottle, and Mr. HAS IT ALL to warn a little too late, "Be careful! That's—"

Trowa sneezed and his face suddenly sparkled.

"Twinkle Ultra Fine Horse Glitter." Number One looked up from his reading and blinked. "Nice look for you, Trowa."

"I'm so sorry! All the grooming supplies belong in the tote."

"This?" Number Three held up a gold embroidered —damn, it was real gold—groom bag, his face all a-glitter like…like, well, not like a _real_ horse.

Out fell the contents, all color-coordinated brushes, curry tools, hoof shapers, shedding blades—with what I guessed were real ivory handles—amid cries of unreserved glee.

_Disgraceful!_

"My special conditioner! It makes my mane so silky and smells of almond and apricots!"

_And that's a good thing, you think? You are a horse, not fruit bowl! But then—what have we here?_

"That golden bowl was for my little sugar lumps and treats," he told Number One, who'd ventured a look inside the case.

_Scandalous!_

Number Two hadn't moved. Maybe he'd had a heart attack and died. Standing.

"- warm blankets for when it's cold at night in the desert, and some lovely silken rugs for day wear. You see? Different colors to suit my mood? Aren't they pretty? This lilac one is my favorite, with the emerald embroidery-"

And then came the climax. "What have we here?" Howard unfolded the blankets, and out jumped a white-furred horror with fangs, claws, and a yowl.

"Meeee-ooow!"

"Percy! It's my kitty, Persian, pedigreed, of course. Isn't he the softest, sweetest—?"

The abomination raced to Number Two's tail and clung to the thickness, tearing off the bow in its terror. The horse re-animated with a whinny and an impressive kick with both rear legs. The tail unraveled and the white blur clung to it for its life.

It occurred to me, suddenly, that if it became ensnarled, the tail might have to be cut to free the pest.

_Injustice! Protect the tail at all costs! Save the taaaaaaaaaaaaaail! _

I bit at the white horror with every intention of tearing it to shreds.

Unfortunately, Number One and I moved as one, synchronized, aiming for the creature taking up residence in the flying black tail.

_My nose!_

We cracked skulls, but that wasn't all! Number Four, worried for the health and well-being of his "kitty" and making the mental leap that we meant it every bit of harm we could duly dole out, bounded over his trunk, overflowing with treasures, crying out, "Noooooo! Oh, no. Not my lace-edged blankets and my hand-carved ivory combs-!"

-Which was a waste of breath since we'd already done _some_ thing.

Number Three tried to block one of us from the others, but by that time there was so much horseflesh in my face, I couldn't say what contribution he'd made.

I did hear Howard's voice, and what I heard wasn't good. He misunderstood our activities. He thought we were fighting.

And I was at the root of the problem.

_Me._

And I'd tried so hard. I'd held back my bitterest remarks. I'd controlled my complete revulsion. I was practically hemorrhaging from the effort, and still… I was to blame.

The injustice was outrageous and of the enormity that only humans of all the creatures that walked the earth could have fabricated.

Or so I thought. But I was wrong, so very wrong. I could be judged even more unfairly and punished in a manner far beyond the furthest limits of righteousness.

"I've heard castration settles down most stallions."

_Who said that?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Snowdragon for Wufei "eating crow" and Waterlily for all the edits, re-edits, re-re-edits (no kidding), and ideas

**Chapter Eight—Paradise Lost **

**(o) Quatre's POV**

My breath still came in shuddering huffs. Wufei had frightened me with his unjustified attack. I'd felt white-hot flashes of the other stallions' combined mix of envy and annoyance. His unstable behavior threatened our happy home, because he'd frightened Howard, too.

And now my lovely belongings, where had they all gone?

I stretched out my legs, scattering straw across the floor of my stall. While I could admire my pretty, clean fur, it was hard to ignore the ugly scars. My hooves had nothing twisted around them, but sometimes, when I felt the grass clinging and tangling around my ankles, it was like, like metal wire twisting- panic!

No, no, they were free and I was safe, I confirmed with another examination. I folded and tucked my slender legs neatly to my side and wondered what had happened to my dear little Percy. He'd disappeared in all the excitement, and although I knew he was alive, I could feel his life beating through his heart, it bothered me that I didn't know what had become of him.

"Move over. I'm not that skinny."

Dear Trowa. This lovely stallion had come to comfort me. He nudged me a little closer to the side of the stall.

"So, there's the cat," he said.

"Really? He's here?"

"Yeah." He moved aside some of the straw I'd mounded with my hooves to reveal a puff of white fluff snuggled into a nest of hay. "Breathing still," Trowa assured me, and then sank to the floor, missing the sleeping cat by a hair's breath.

He was the sweetest, gentlest horse I'd ever met. He was my soul mate. I loved his rare coloring and the way the roan frosted the underlying, reddish fur! Why he didn't think he was stunning, with the most perfect strawberries-in-cream spotted coat -like a rose syrup pudding—I couldn't understand, but there was no use asking him. Questions like that just made him go silent.

I just wanted to lick him all over just like my favorite dessert, nibble all those strawberry spots. I didn't; I wasn't entirely certain what he'd make of that intensity of attention.

He didn't talk much about himself or offer much about what he was thinking. I had to use my cleverness to tease a few scraps of information from him.

"How did you end up with Percy, was it here?" I licked his fur in a line along his spine.

Trowa let out a stream of air, ruffling his long forelock. "Duo saved him from sure death and dumped him on my back."

"And that didn't bother you?"

"I'd had big cats riding back there before. This one hardly counted."

"I was thinking of those little claws digging in."

"Well that wasn't great, but if you move evenly, they don't wobble and cling so hard. In shows, I'd wear a special blanket for protection, or I'd be dead by now."

"Oh, I'd think so, those huge claws!" I remembered encountering the mountain lions near our pasture. "Let me look. I see a spot of blood." I licked his shoulders, which he seemed to like. His breathing deepened and I smoothed my cheek against his soft fur. "Percy seems to like you. He won't even look at me."

"Aw, don't pout, Beautiful. Everything happened so fast, he probably thought he was on your back. He's asleep now. Who knows how long he'd been locked up in that trunk?"

"How true, poor thing. Of course, it was kind of you to get him that tin of sardines."

"Howard did that." He seemed amused by what I'd said and rolled so I could lick and nuzzle a bit under his chin.

"But you…_lick, lick_… pushed it where Percy could lap it up without moving."

"I didn't want to step in the rank smelling stuff."

"You are so…! Just let me compliment you." I pulled at one of Trowa's soft ears with my lips.

"Oh, you com-_ple_-ment me just fine."

I could tell he was proud of that joke and nuzzled him some more. "Mmmm." But he pushed me away to look at my neck.

"There's a ragged place in your mane."

I let my head sink onto my soft blankie, the only item besides sweet little Percy that had made it into my stall. It smelled of spices and desert. I felt a stab of pain in my chest. I liked it here, but I missed things about my last home, too. "It's nothing. I think Wufei bit it off."

"Bit it off? I'll nip a kink in his tail-"

"You'll do no such thing. It's not important. Really. Howard's upset with us. He doesn't think we're getting along. I can _feel_ it."

"I believe you, but we can't let that asshole get away with biting."

"You're right, and I'll think of something." I certainly would have to! How would it look if I let him bully me? Trowa would think I was weak and maybe there was some truth to the accusations. And if Trowa turned his back on me? How could I survive that? What hope would I have left that Heero or Duo would still want to be my friend? "I can stand up to him just fine. And I will. I really, really will!" _Please don't believe I'm as worthless as Wufei said!_

"Hey, settle down, my beautiful, beautiful heart. Shhh."

My breath caught somewhere between my chest and my lips. Had he really called me his heart? How sweet. The endearments eased my worries like balm to my aching soul – words usually reserved for a mate than a friend.

I must have "settled down" enough for him to unlink our legs and talk to me in his customary tone of voice.

"I know you've got more gumption than most the horses I've known. He was a first-class jerk. If the humans hadn't been there, you might've done him some harm."

"I'd never jeopardize the herd!"

"- And I saw you jump the chest, which was half your size. That took nerve-"

"Yes, yes, it did." I was brave too. Really I was!

"-And maturity."

"You're too kind," I began, but stopped when he snorted his difference of opinion in my ear. "Anyway, I can deal with him—" I insisted.

"_We_ will. He doesn't know what you endured."

_We_—that sounded very nice, but… "I- I couldn't… I can't talk about escaping the terrible stallions and their cruel jokes. Not when my head was full of the awful things he was saying to me."

"Of course not. You owe your story to no one."

"But if he understood-?"

"Doesn't matter; he'd overstepped his bounds. Even Heero won't let him get away with wrecking our herd."

"Okay, _we_ can deal with him in the morning. Right now, I'd like to talk about other things."

"Like your dowry chest?"

"It's not a –" I poked him in the ribs with a knee, and he trapped my legs again, intertwining them. "You were teasing me."

With a shake of his head, Trowa hid his near eye behind a curtain of forelock. I hated when he cut me off that way, so with my long tongue, I swept away the hair. "You think all those things are silly, don't you?"

"Not silly, nothing that means so much to you could ever be silly."

I just melted against him. He was so kind and being rather sentimental, but I relished it to bits.

"No," he went on, "your stuff's too valuable for that. Just surprised me to see it. What's the matter?"

Well, that was interesting. The monetary value of my things had never struck me, but Trowa counted and Wufei seemed particularly sensitive to appearances. Flaunting expensive things like I had must have seemed inconsiderate and foolish, which meant Wufei's anger had been somewhat justified. I sighed and fell back down onto my blankie.

"I'll probably never see it all again." I rubbed my face against the soft cloth, finding it still offered me comfort. "At least I have this."

"You still have me. Not that I really compare to all that treasure."

What a shameless thing for me to have said. I nuzzled him almost frantically. "You do! You're far more important than those - things! It's just that they remind me of my home, of my family."

"Hey, beautiful." He tried to put me off, but I could tell he loved all the attention I gave him by the way he lifted his chin, giving me better access to his sensitive spots. He had lots of those. He was virtually covered with all kinds of spots. _Oh, my, was I getting light-headed? _

A few heated moments later he shook his head free. "Your stuff's still around."

"It is?"

"Yeah, right outside your stall. I saw it on my way over."

"My keepsake chest? Do you think it's open?"

"I should think so. A-aw, don't get up to look. Stay put."

"I can't very well leave with you on my legs, can I?"

(o)

"Rain." I hadn't learned to accept the copious quantities of water pouring from the sky. It was gloomy and disheartening. And then Trowa found a way to sweep away my storm clouds.

"No problem, my beautiful little hydrophobic _Equus ferus caballus. _There's the indoor arena for exercise."

"Ha! I love it when you speak Latin to me."

"That's good."

"And I feel so much better knowing I don't have to go out in that."

"That's right."

"Morning, Sunshine… Spot."

"Hi, Duo.

"Yo."

"Hey, don't look so glum. We'll have a great day, you'll see. Say, where's the cat?"

"Percy!" I'd forgotten about him already. How neglectful I'd become!

"Whoa, I think I found him."

Dangling from Duo's tail, getting more and more tangled every second, was my Percy.

"Oh, dear! I'm so sorry! I'll try to get him to let go."

"That… vile vermin is still here?" Heero's irritation reached all the way up and down my spine. "Duo! I thought you said he'd been destroyed in the fracas?"

"No, I didn't. What I'd said was—"

Wufei stuck his neck out his stall window, not having been freed yet by Duo. "Technically, a feline is not a vermin; it hunts them."

Percy bat away my nose as I tried to free him from Duo's luxurious hair. Heero hissed and Duo looked abashed and in pain as I found a cat-hold and tugged again, while poor Percy clung onto the tail for dear life.

Heero looked very unhappy as he glared at the mass of white spun in a fine black net, swinging. "That's my tail to play with." I felt Heero growing more incensed by the second. "You **said **you got rid of the menace."

"Um, what I'd said was more along the lines of watching the cat disappear with the circus horse…" Duo's voice trailed off. "Ouch!"

"Percy is sweet and precious. He's not a menace. Usually. Oh, this is so hard. I can't free both paws at the same time."

"Maybe if I pulled from the other side," my sweet Trowa offered.

"I did get rid of him!" Duo said to Heero, defending his actions, and then groaned. "I gave him to Trowa and he carried it away. What's the big—? Argh! You're pulling out hair!"

And suddenly we heard from Wufei. "No, no! Let _me!_"

Whatever did Wufei mean by that? "That isn't very nice of you to say," I told him. "Pulling hair hurts."

"Chewer." Both Trowa and Duo ground that out, and now I understood.

A _hair_ chewer. So, mine wasn't the only mane to get snacked on? Yes, and that was why the new horse had wanted to rescue Duo's hair from Percy's grip, so he could have it for his own purposes. Foolish, foolish horse.

Heero butted into Wufei's door. "Pull in your neck before I break it!" he ordered Wufei, who looked astonished. "Crow's the only thing you'll be eating around here." He whirled around so I couldn't see what had become of my delicate little kitty, and shouted more orders. "Duo, get out of here."

He backed into the stall door again, harder. I heard wood split! This was not going to turn out well for dear, dear Percy if I didn't extract him at once. I pulled and Trowa blew air in the cat's face, distracting it. I had half a cat in my mouth.

"You've made of mess of Number Two's tail. The groom will have a fit."

"Shut up," Trowa told Wufei.

"There! Free!" Duo cheered me on. "Now hide the cat!"

Heero snapped at the kitty's huge, fluffy tail.

"Heero! Stop!" I blurted out, dropping the kitty cat.

Snap, snap!

Poor Percy! He skittled on the smooth surface but couldn't outrun Heero. "He's terrified!" I whinnied. "Oh, please, don't hurt him!"

Duo stepped in the way, taking the charge and most of Heero's weight, giving poor Percy a chance to get out from under hoof. Trowa nabbed him by the nape of the neck and plopped him onto his back.

"Move it, Duo. I hate cats!" Heero grumbled. "Where did it go?"

"_Away_. Geeze Louise, 'Ro, it's a cat not a rat. You gotcher rats'n'cats mixed up."

"I. Hate. Cats. All cats, including rats and mice."

I wanted to point out that rats and mice weren't cats, but Wufei had already tried and failed, and Heero was very insistent about his point, punctuating his words with a solid stomp of his hoof, so I gave up.

I nearly missed another hiss and Wufei leaning out from his stall again. He was talking to Percy!

"You think you are riding on Quatre's back, don't you, you stupid, color-blind animal? Well, you are not. That's the circus clown, which I'm sure a pampered pet like you wouldn't dream of sleeping near- Look over there. See? That's the yellow horse."

Percy's round eyes studied me hard. Did that cat actually understand what Wufei had said? Could Wufei really talk to cats and understand them? He understood human speech, so it wasn't entirely absurd. Percy rose up on his toes and his back went all upside down "U" shaped, and he dug in his claws.

"AH!" Trowa tried to pitch off the fluffy, upside down "U" shaped kitty with its tiny, sharp nails.

"Oh, dear! He doesn't mean to hurt you. It's just an automatic reaction."

Trowa reared up onto his hind legs—his automatic reaction, I guessed- to get rid of the annoyance clinging to his back.

Heero and Duo were heading back our way again; Heero to hurt my kitty, I could tell!

"Duo, out of my way!" Heero whinnied.

"Too late!"

Both Duo and Heero rammed into Trowa, who'd been balanced on two legs. It was terrible! They all crashed into the stall. I heard the cracking wood, the whinnies, Wufei's rather disgraceful cry for help.

My poor crushed pussy-cat!

I disliked Wufei to the point that I actually hoped he'd been hurt. He really shouldn't have told the cat about Trowa, if that's what he'd done, and I was nearly certain he had.

And then suddenly Percy dashed out between my legs and last I saw of him was the tip of his tail vanishing into my stall.

And then the thunder of human footfalls. _Oh, dear_.

Everyone was okay, but not Wufei's door. It required repair.

Howard seemed exasperated with us. We were dressed in booties and horse rugs then summarily turned out into the muddy outdoor arena in the pouring rain.

We had made things worse by far. My horse sense told me that the humans were desperately worried about us not getting along.

We were a sullen lot. Standing, water running down our noses, nothing to eat. We'd missed breakfast! No sweet meadow grass. Just nasty nettles and prickly things. And if I hadn't had my frilly booties and monogrammed horse jacket, I would have been more uncomfortable than I'd ever known.

Which set off Wufei, again. Apparently, my cherished belongings had not been forgotten by him.

"You should all be appalled that a stallion amongst you has all those luxurious things."

Wufei made "luxurious" sound like "wickedness" and made me defensive.

"I didn't ask for them!" I shot back.

"I never had anything except my saddle and bridle, and my sword, of course."

Only I heard Duo add, "Don't neglect adding your obnoxious attitude."

"My breed would scorn all these overindulgent possessions."

I looked to the others for support. "All the Winner horses had nice things! Even the war horses!"

Wufei let out a derisive snort. "And who hasn't heard of the famous Winner warrior stallions and how battle-tough and brave they are? What happened to you?"

That nearly shocked the breath right out of me. "I-I was dismissed."

"Rejected from of this elite group? Well, that comes as no surprise to me. I want nothing to do with you," he said, turning to address the others, "and the rest of you should ignore him too."

"OH no! Please no!"

It wasn't fair. He was singling me out and it wasn't fair, but to defend myself I'd have to reveal my deepest darkest fears. I couldn't talk about my nightmares yet. I couldn't talk about the awful stallions. And yet, I knew I must stand up to the bully, I knew that, before he put questions in their heads and created more friction.

"I think you should shut your yap." Love my stalwart Trowa!

"That's pretty harsh, Wu." And Duo.

"We all got ousted from one thing or the other," Heero told him. "It's not the horse's fault most of the time either."

"And not mine for being a treasured part of the Sheik's horse harem," I said, "if only until I grew up. It's lovely to feel special and treasured. Didn't anyone ever love you?"

He didn't say anything. I could feel anger boiling in his chest. Maybe, if I was gentle and sweet I could make him see things from my point of view. I couldn't hurt to try.

"You spent your whole life being tough and strong and don't know what it's like to be cherished." Without thinking, I glanced at Trowa when I said it. "Not yet—"

Waves of resentment washed over me, and when I looked up, Wufei was gnashing his teeth and swishing his tail. I felt so sorry for him, but I was making things worse.

"Save the dewy-eyes for the spotted freak," he said.

Trowa spoke up as he walked steadily toward the other horse, taking the verbal assault in a frontal attack and shielding me. "Now, just a doggone minute—"

Wufei backed up a step. "Stay away from me!"

"Please, Trowa! I don't want a fight over me. It's okay. I utterly understand why Wufei is so bitter and angry."

I tried to worm past Trowa to appeal to the angry Chinese warrior horse, but Heero nudged me out of his way, the two horses walling off Duo and me from Wufei. Still, I could feel the resentment and ire flowing from him.

"Argh! Shut up! I just want to **kick** you!"

And equally strong emotions roiling off my kind protector. "So help me, Wufei, I'm going to lob your head over the far fence if you don't apologize to him."

_Oh, no!_ I just couldn't stand by while everything was escalating out of control. I had to stop the violence.

Duo seemed to read my mind when he bowed his head to the side and said to me, "I'm going this way."

We circled around the horse knot in opposite directions, leaving Wufei in the center. He couldn't attack us all at once.

I knew we had to stop before something terrible happened. "Think everyone! You don't want the humans to break us up or have to sell us, do you?" I demanded their attention by stomping my hooves, and then appealed to their better natures. "You mustn't fight! Either of you!"

The mares who reared me taught me about pacifism and being nice to those who are mean to you and that I should try to help and understand them. I had to teach the others and make them all understand.

Duo had his own ideas. "You're as big as him. Show him you can kick butt!"

"What? I thought you wanted to stop a fight, and now you are inciting one!"

Heero and Duo looked on, expecting me to fight. Duo meant well, I knew it, but he and the others didn't see why I wouldn't fight with Wufei.

"No, that's not the way to help, can't you see? You should feel sorry for him, rather than trying to make him apologize for how he feels."

I jigged sideways to Trowa with a second's warning from a flare of blinding hate, just avoiding Wufei's charge. I knew he wouldn't really hurt me; at least, he couldn't reach me since Trowa was there and would always be there to protect me. And I could run almost as fast as a Thoroughbred! Much faster than the Chinese warrior horse.

"Heads up!" Heero warned.

Then Howard and the farrier appeared from the barn door and headed directly for the golden stallion with a rope and halter.

"What's this? I was under perfect control," he complained.

"No, you were hounding Quatre," Heero corrected him.

I didn't like the feelings I was getting from the humans. Not at all. They were concerned for our safety, and their own, but also worries that ran deeper. The humans' conversation seemed intense, and so did Wufei's interest in it.

Wufei stood only inches away so I could hear him grinding his teeth and whispering. "Again! It's being suggested again! Oh! How mortifying! Imagine, one of the Dragon clan being damaged that way. In the prime of my life! The injustice of it!"

Heero understood the disorder to the herd, I think; he certainly noticed Wufei was most disturbed, enough to demand, "What are you muttering?"

I wondered why he just crossed his rear legs that way?

Heero was about to lose his carefully controlled temper and glared at Wufei. "Explain the human speech. What are they talking about?"

I could feel Wufei's panic and see the white rimming his eyes. I could also tell that he wasn't about to tell us what he'd heard when he tossed his head defiantly.

Heero was just as intent on getting his answer. "I will kill you if you don't tell me."

_No! Don't overreact! _

Duo leaned in to bump shoulders. "Hey, 'Ro, it's not about you, what they're saying."

"You don't know that!" Heero snapped, a sure sign he was tense.

Duo smacked him with his tail. "They're not saying our names."

Heero sighed, giving way to Duo, who whispered, "They haven't mentioned Relena for a long time."

Oh! Was Heero still worried that he might yet be sent back to Relena? Fighting with Wufei could make that possibility a reality!

Heero leveled a glare in Wufei's direction. "I mean it. Tell me."

And I knew he was mad enough to attack, and just might attempt it, which was stupid, really. It would make the worst come true! Everything was going wrong. The humans were getting more nervous by the second. Couldn't the others tell?

Duo shook his mane. "C'mon, Wu, what's the big secret? Um, better spit it out before you get hauled away."

He was answered by a snort as Wufei directed his comments to Heero. "You'll be separated from Number Two, if you try–"

"He's not a number! Humans might label us. Attempting to reduce us to numbers, devaluing us, but we are better than they are. So call him by his name. Call him Duo!"

Heero did have a point. And he so obviously adored Duo to bits. I hoped that affection was stronger than the impulse to dominate Wufei and start a fight.

"The humans will haul you away and you'll never see your…" his tongue stumbled over the name, but he spit it out, "… Duo again."

Heero showed his teeth. "Only if I got caught mangling your dead body. And I wouldn't."

Another good point. And I could feel Wufei's resistance fade.

"And I'll help quarter, mash, and hide your body parts, and stand by him," Duo said, ever loyal to our leader.

"Count me in," came from Trowa. "In fact, I'm gonna find me a crow. He can start breakfast with that."

I kept my mouth shut. I didn't think Trowa would kill a crow much less make Wufei eat one. I couldn't even pretend to be that brutal and anything I'd say would ruin the moment for Heero. Male hormones pervaded the air, his neck thickened and mane bristled.

And the less dominant horse backed down.

Wufei gave in. "The operative word was castration."

And we all crossed our legs…


	9. Chapter 9

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for all the edits and ideas and Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking

**Chapter Nine— Getting a Second Chance**

**(o) Duo POV**

Howard dressed us in horse rugs and the darnedest, funniest-looking hoof covers, which Sunshine called booties, before kicking us out into the elements, but now the cold and wet just added insult to our potential injuries. No, make that soon-to-be castrations!

"Geez Louise! If I lose my balls because of you, believe me. I won't squander a second before ripping yours off with my teeth—"

"Duo…everyone! Calm down I'm sure he misunderstood. Howard wouldn't do that to us—" but poor Sunshine couldn't shed a sunbeam over the current problem.

"C-castration?" Heero blurted past his gritted teeth.

"You heard it straight from the horse's mouth," I said.

Our leader's body language was pretty angry and I hoped Goldie could read it as good as the rest of us. "Do you know what that will do to us?" he asked.

"Sure he does." Spot bumped against Goldie hard enough to knock him off his stance. "That's why he didn't want to tell us what the humans were saying."

Goldie bumped him back, but Spot had his legs spread and was the bigger horse so he didn't budge. "You think I want to lose my edge either?"

"No, no! None of us want that to happen." Sunshine rushed in to keep the other two males from ratcheting up their pushing match into a brawl. "We must learn to get along and work together. Can you do that, Wufei?"

Despite being the target for most of the anger, Goldie looked anything but defeated; in fact, at the moment he appeared ready to bite Sunshine's head off. He bristled with indignation. "Can _I_-?"

I decided to get a word in edgewise and offer my suggestion. "Stop with the criticizing—you can start with that."

The Gold warrior-wannabe sniffed and looked sulky, shifting his feet and turning away. "Condemn the critiquer."

"Horse feathers," Spot snuffled.

"You pass judgment on the rest of us as if you're somehow better." I wouldn't let go of the ring, now that I felt like I'd won a round.

"Shhh," Sunshine tried again, this time getting our attention. "Howard and that man he's brought with him are watching us."

"Evaluating-" Heero agreed, becoming terser under stress.

"-Who's to get cut first," Spot finished in a mutter, his voice full of concern. "I've seen geldings, poor fuckers."

"Bad pun, Spot ole buddy," I told him.

Sunshine fidgeted in place. "I think geldings are nice."

"Complacent work horses," Heero said it like a condemnation of the entire community of males stripped of their manliness.

And the fear of being cut moved in and set up camp in my belly. "I'd see them out on the streets, pulling loads, squashed, and settling for the hard life. I don't wanna settle, 'Ro!"

"Nor do I."

I guess I must have been all worked up. I couldn't keep the rain outta my face and look up at the same time. I wasn't the only one frustrated, though. I heard Spot shaking out his tail and mane and telling Goldie, "You've gone and done it now."

"I did nothing. What? What did I just do?"

"You upset Duo. More than keeping his herd safe, Heero cares about keeping Duo content, because when Duo's happy, he's happy—capeesh?"

I noticed, barely, Goldie dip his head in one, curt little nod -a gesture that didn't satisfy my bud Spot.

"Just keep your mouth zipped in the future," he added with more than a blob of menace on top.

"I dunno," I said with a hopeless shake of my mane. "You can lead a man to water, but you can't make one drink, as they say. You know, horses, like people, will only do what they've a mind to do."

"Maybe it would help if we all shared a personal story?" Sunshine offered. Once again, I got the feeling he could sense when our excitement was about to explode into something dangerous, but what a weird thing to say.

He won the incredulous stares from an unappreciative audience.

"I don't know," Spot murmured.

But Sunshine ploughed (this spelling's for Waterlily) forward undeterred. "I'll even start." He glanced over at Spot with a desperate look. "It might possibly help make my nightmares go away."

"No mares hanging about in this place- day _or_ night," I said, by way of a joke no one appreciated.

Didn't matter. Howard and this other man with him towed Goldie off toward the barn, ending our dilemma unceremoniously.

**(o) Howard's POV**

"That new horse is a proud one. If he'd been mine, I'd have had him castrated." Jenkins ran a hand through his thinning hair and covered the wisps with his well-worn cowboy hat.

It was cold out and I wished I'd worn mine. "Doesn't solve my predicament."

I knew the man had a point. I'd known him for years, worked with him. He was second in command of the Sweepers Guild of horse handlers. I was the director in charge, but I knew enough to listen to what he had to say, and I was paying him enough to come study the horses and give me some ideas, be a sounding board for my own out here at the Haven, so I'd better listen.

"They are all fine looking horses, but that one is gold medal material. You can tell he was raised for show, but ready also to go into battle-"

I'd forgotten how much he liked to hear himself talk. "Humph." That wasn't my evaluation of him and, frankly, all I cared about was that I had a touchy male to subdue.

"-Armies prefer the use of stallions to that of geldings for warfare, you know. While geldings may enter battle as mere transport, the war stallion is quite capable- when trained- to not only carry his warrior master but to fight with him using teeth and hooves also!"

"Yes, but what am I to do about Wufei? I can't let his behavior go unpunished and I can't let him hurt any of the other well-mannered stallions. Look at the Arabian; he's from a band of warrior horses (with an odd penchant for silk ribbons) and he's perfectly behaved."

"Spectacular horse, that one, too. Well, without an outlet for his energy, he'll continue to act up. Being a gentlemen's mount and standing around most of the day is ill suited to any temperament other than passive."

"They get plenty of exercise and entertainment, otherwise the Thoroughbred and the Arabian would be acting up. Everything was fine until I introduced the Akhal-Teke. Look now at how the Appaloosa protects the Arabian!"

"Interesting behavior. That's the one you got from the circus? Attractive animal, in a showy kind of way—they all are, in fact. I can see why you're concerned; you've gathered an astonishing collection of stallions here."

"Yes, I have. But-?"

"How is he with humans? If the horse has learned that it is far stronger than his handlers and is able to dominate them, it is extremely unlikely that his behavior will be changed – and it may become worse."

"He is perfectly well-bred and responsive. I'll show you."

I was more worried about Heero in that department, but kept that fear to myself. One problem at a time, I always said. Too bad life didn't follow the same rule.

Wufei seemed agitated, and almost surprised- if I could affix a human emotion to him- to be culled from the snorting, foot-stomping herd, but he didn't pull back or refuse to come along.

Jenkins and I took him into the indoor arena, where I let my old friend introduce himself before putting the horse on the long lead and through his paces. The golden horse behaved perfectly and seemed to enjoy the undivided attention.

"Exquisite animal," Jenkins said of Wufei, putting on his professorial face, which warned me of another lecture coming. "Too late now, of course, once male behavior patterns form it is pointless to expect castration to 'put the clock back' in any reliable sense. I'd take him off your hands, certainly, if it comes to that."

I pulled on the rope and let Wufei trot up to me for a carrot. He wouldn't go hunting like Duo did. That horse practically mauled me as he checked each pocket for hidden treats I was keeping from him. Sneaky, devil. Had to love him.

No, this horse stood with his head raised as if at attention, staring, following my hands, waiting for an offering. An immensely proud and sometimes silly horse.

"I'll mull that over, thank you, Jenkins, but I have to tell you I hope to keep him."

"Well, considering how well the other four get along, I'd recommend that you give him more time to fit in then."

"Good advice." At least, I agreed with it.

I watched the golden horse lean into the man's touch, obviously enjoying an ear scratch. "How's the lead stallion doing? The Thoroughbred. He's a young one."

"Heero is stronger than new rope, and capable of keeping them all in line."

I was pretty sure the young thoroughbred could handle the Akhal-Teke, and feeling better about them now that Jenkins agreed with me to give him more time, but I was less comfortable with of Heero's hair-trigger around fire-wielding humans.

"Well, they caused you some expensive damage today. Hope he does a better job in the future."

I did, too. It wasn't the stall damage that concerned me; I didn't want my horses injured.

"Just horse play and rough housing. Stallions are just big boys at times. If I could keep Duo, that's the black Morgan, from figuring out the latches, short of locking them in at night—ah, well."

"It's all a game the Morgan plays with you, you think?"

"No, not a game exactly. He has time to kill and is a showoff. If I don't challenge him every month or so with a new latch system, he might start on the hinges or begin dismantling the trucks."

"Ha!"

I opened the door and saw a chilling combination of rain and hail bouncing off the horse's backs. The Arabian looked the picture of misery. A bit of weather wouldn't hurt them, now that they had their feet protected and wore warm blankets, and with no chance of an electrical storm to panic the Thoroughbred.

What spoiled sensitive creatures my stallions were!

"Go on." I gave Wufei a gentle push, which he chose to ignore, not that I blamed him. Who wouldn't choose to remain in a heated arena over going out into an icy downpour? "Do you all good to chill off for awhile."

Jenkins pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck, and looked up into the sky, assessing the weather. I paused at his side to wait out the deluge. "So, you're coming back here for the Haven's big winter party next week?"

"Sure am. I hear the Doctors invited all the Sweepers, too?"

"Yes, the whole gang. Bring your 4-wheel. Snow's forecasted."

"Will do, Howard. Now, I'd better get off to the auction. Anything I can try to find for you?"

"I'm looking for a horse of my own, but I already have one in mind. Trouble is the owner's not ready to give him up."

I caught a look at Wufei out of the corner of my eye. He'd been standing at my shoulder and I swear the way he watched me it was as if he's been listening. Very strange, intense animal.

"The hail storm's over now, you can go outside," I told him and this time slapped his hindquarters.

He didn't even flinch when I struck him. He held up his head, flicked his tail, and stepped slowly, regally out into the muddy path, as if it had been his intention all along.

(**o) Back to Duo's POV**

"Oh, dear!" Sunshine cried, "It's no use. Howard's taken Wufei away, and now the moment's lost, I'm afraid."

"Good riddance," was all I could muster.

"You were hoping a little tell-all session would help make him feel a part of our group?" Spot shook the water out of his face sending a spray in all directions.

Sunshine and I danced out of range. Heero had his back turned to stare into the gloom of the pasture. Sunshine appeared miffed by the circumstances. "Yes, I did, and now, our talk will have to wait."

"S'okay, Sunshine. I'm not so sure I wanna open my soul to him."

"And I'm not sure I want to see what he's got inside his," Spot remarked.

"What are we doing out here in this awful weather?"

"We've been banned from the barn."

"That's not funny, Spot."

"Aw, Sunshine," I broke in, "lighten up. Just think how great the grooming job will feel when we go in."

"You hope that's what next." Heero stared me in the eye, holding me under his power.

"The vet's not here," Spot remarked intelligently, "and I don't think Howard's cutting us himself."

"True." Heero nuzzled the back of my neck, lifting the drenched mane then dropped it. "It must weigh a ton wet."

"Yes it _do_, my dear friend, and let's hope, while we're all hoping for miracles to happen, that it doesn't freeze, 'cause then I'd be in an even bigger fix."

"Fix? Ugh! This is just horrible. My mane is all soggy. It's terrible."

I put a couple feet between Sunshine and me, cozying up beside Heero to share warmth. Let Spot deal with the whining. And then I felt an icy pin-prick on my nose. "Aw, nettles and thorn bushes! Whazzat? Ice?"

Sunshine confirmed the downturn in the weather with a disappointed sounding shriek of his own. "Eeee! What's this?"

"Stick out your tongue, Beautiful."

Even Heero snapped to attention to see what mischief the other two were getting into. You'd have to be duller than a sheep to miss what was going on between Sunshine and Spot. They were pretty close stall buddies and the best of play mates.

"But it stings!"

"Not much. Now taste it."

"It's gone! It was hard, cold water all along!"

"Yep. Hail. Snow's softer. You'll get a snort-full of that sooner or later."

"I'd prefer the softer and the later."

Spot rattled out a strange sound from his throat then said something I didn't understand, "I'd prefer harder and sooner back at the stall."

Before I could ask him what he'd meant, Heero was shoving me around to look the other direction.

"He's coming back." Heero grunted and shook the water from his mane, which I could no longer do because my mane had become a mat the size of a newborn colt. Luckily, my tail was still bound up in a funny braid, or it would be colt number two.

Sure enough, Goldie swanned out to the mud flats to add his own brand of misery to the ample portions nature was dishing out.

Heero let him get nailed with a few smart hail stones and feel the wet chill of winter before beginning interrogations. He just fired them off: "What were you doing? What did Howard want? What are the pertinent issues being discussed."

I thought Goldie would let the questions ricochet off his hard skull and remain mute as a rock, and he did, for a minute, and then that frosty exterior crumpled a little. Must have been that heated glare of 'Ro's.

"Sadly, gelding is still an issue, but I was making too much noise running in circles to hear the details."

Spot snorted at that. That guy could run circles around circles and not miss a thing. "What good are you?"

"I did overhear some remarks about you, Duo." Goldie looked askance at me through eyes closed to mere slits. His long, black eyelashes were frosted, giving him a sultry look rather than intimidating.

I blew air out my lips and made a rude sound. "Oh, yeah? So what?"

"He changes the latches to keep you occupied so you don't damage anything important, but he might lock us in at night with something you can't operate."

"That would be your fault as well. If Howard's afraid of what we'll do fighting with you, he'll want us separated. And how better than to keep us locked in our cells?"

"Not necessarily so. Howard thinks Heero's still a threat. He said something about putting him on a stronger rope."

"Not the stable boy attack again! Geez, will they never forget about that?"

"One more thing."

"What is it?" I wanted Goldie to shut the hay-hole. Heero had enough worries already.

"Howard wants to buy another horse, one for himself."

"Not another-?"

Heero whirled about to face the cheeky gold horse. "Then you'd better settle in."

"Yeah," I agreed. "If Howard and the doctors are afraid our herd is falling apart then we all gotta fix that. None of us wants to be turned into a bunch of…of—"

Sunshine supplied the words I couldn't say. "Passionless eunuchs."

Goldie had the decency to wince and hang his head.

Spot snorted. "Time for you _especially_ to hoof the line and play nice."

I think Sunshine felt we shouldn't kick a horse when he's down, 'cause he went all shiny and soft. "I'll even share my toiletries with you, if I can figure out how to get the chest open."

"I don't want—"

A kick in the rear from Spot shut off his spiteful comment. "That's right; you don't want to hurt his feelings, so you just be gracious."

At which point we got pelted with tiny pellets of hardened water that grew in size and quantity such that Sunshine started looking a bit too wild-eyed for his own good.

"This ain't fun," I said. "I don't care what the human's think we oughta do, they're not out in this mess—that's for sure."

"Go in the barn and if the arena's open, we'll go in there." Heero agreed.

Sunshine dashed hell-bent for mash toward the light, splashing mud up his legs and all over his coat. I had to give him street creds for his enthusiasm.

By the time we reached the barn, there was a whole staff of stable caretakers ready to dry us off and take away our wet blankets and hoof covers.

"Looks like our enlightening talks will have to wait," I told Sunshine.

"I reckon you're right," Spot said, a bit too cheerfully. And he noticed it, I think, 'cause he quickly added, "Too bad."

"Yes, I believe your right, Duo."

He may have just agreed with me to be nice, but I think he looked as relieved as the rest of us to put off that ugliness. Sometimes it was hard enough to share my past with Heero, even knowing he'd be compassionate. And I knew Sunshine wouldn't judge me or Spot. I guess I didn't want to give Goldie more fodder for making me feel inferior.

Well, I'd have time to think about what I'd say, if anything, because my mane was a revolting mess which would take forever to straighten out. The groom must have been thinking along the same lines. He started on me straight way and had assistants work on the others. One by one, we all got our manes and tails cleaned and then brought out little boxes of colorful bands and new tools.

"We're getting braids!" Sunshine squealed with unbridled glee.

Spot sighed hugely.

"With the flies gone, the hair's protection is less important," Heero said, and then he gave me a queer look, kinda sad, and added, "I'll miss burying my nose in yours."

Oh, my knees felt a little weak after hearing him say that.

Braiding long manes and tails simplified the grooming, possibly, I don't know. It took a _long_ time to do. While mine was going through the eternal process of being combed out, I watched as the groom fixed up Heero's mane and tail.

Goldie kept up a translation of the human prattle for us. "Band it so his neck looks thinner and his mane lies quietly, hopefully," the groom just commented to the attendant doing the work. "It's the untidiest thatch when left free."

"What they mean is they hope to control Heero's mess with that gel glop," Spot said.

Well, that glop smelled like strawberries, so it couldn't be too bad.

They used bands that matched his mane color, and, I have to say, Heero's thick, cresty neck looked finer with all those neat little braids pulled down deep into his mane's ridgeline.

"You look hot, 'Ro."

He did and I could tell he knew it from the way he snorted and held his head high to show off.

Next, Spot was bound in "the English method", Goldie told us. The braid was folded once or twice, depending on the length of the mane, and secured with silver-toned thread, giving a smart "button" effect.

"Good look for you," I said and he just glowed, unable to hide behind his now tied up forelock as he usually did.

"A running braid is used on horses with unusually long flowing manes," Goldie said.

Manes like mine and Sunshine's, who's gleamed the color of fields of pale, dry grass in the sun. Entrancing, really, just to watch it get plaited halfway down so it looked like a net, with the ends dangling loose. We all watched in awe as the groom they wrapped contrasting color tape around the bands, the pearlescent bands shining, highlighting the design, and which really emphasized his neckline.

I heard a gasp and Spot's whispered voice remark, "Covering him in pearls."

Yep, and I actually saw drool drip from Goldie's mouth, just hanging open like a wasp trap.

Then to sparkle up our little ray of Sunshine all the more, the humans further decorated him with some of his own glamorous rhinestones and jewel-toned rings.

Yep, he was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen.

The groom fixed up Goldie in his usual, patented, no-nonsense braid. Okay, he looked sharp, but he was on my "out" list.

It took this long to get my tail and mane ready for braiding, to give you an idea of what I go through. Goldie told me that I was to get the same braid treatment as Sunshine, but with a slightly different variation, "Diamond braiding. It requires the mane to be braided in individual braids and then they band those into a web."

Sounded way complicated, and it was, but it took up yards of hair. "Feels great!" I had freedom to move around and shake my head, which really mattered when you carried around as much hair as I did.

"Stunning," Heero said, and just about floored me.

"Yes." Goldie's eyes looked glazed over after his hair treatment. Musta been a real zen experience for him, either that or… no, he was staring at the groom messing with my tail hair next.

"Go away, Chomper."

"I'm _just_ watching."

The humans were chattering away about my pretty hair, I think. I couldn't tell because Goldie wasn't saying anything. I'd say he was drooling again.

"Stop with the drool. What'er they saying?"

"Saying? Oh, that. He's noticed where I've chewed your tail. I am truly sorry."

Grr…

"He says he's going to apply a product designed to discourage equine nibbling. The main ingredient being cayenne pepper and the rest is hair spray. I hate the taste of that."

Well, all right then.

"What _is_ that brain-numbing smell! Geez Louise!"

"That's the concoction I won't like the taste of."

*Hack* "Heero will hate it, too!" I felt more like kicking Goldie into a bloody heap than ever now.

Not that I could maul him as easily as before. No heavy shoes! When our hooves had last been trimmed, we'd been left unshod, since we weren't running on hard surfaces. It was my first time without shoes and I felt so light-footed. So being shoeless came with good and bad points.

I was still hacking away at the terrible smell, when the farrier showed up to examine our feet and sand our hooves to make them smooth. Then technicians applied hoof polish. Goldie, 'Ro and I got black hoof polish painted on. Sunshine and Spot got clear polish on their hooves.

"Appaloosas are not permitted to use hoof polish of ANY color, other than clear, and even that is frowned upon," Goldie reported, the little dictator.

*Hack* Between the hairspray and the nail polish fumes, I r_eally_ felt like kicking him.

"I hope you gag to death on it the next time you steal a bite."

"I probably will—er—_would_."

On the bright side, he reported how pleased the humans were with our behavior, although they were calling the vet if I didn't stop coughing. I gently, so gently, pulled away from my handler and made a beeline for the nearest stall window. I nosed it open and gasped for fresh air. No more vet visits for me. No way. Not taking _no_ chances!


	10. Chapter 10

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thank you all for reading my story and providing the interesting feedback. As always, I'm very grateful to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking and Waterlily for all the edits and ideas and for suggesting the more attractive spelling of 'ploughed'.

**Chapter Ten— Waiting out the Winter**

**(o) Duo POV**

Spot said it had only been a few days since the "hail and brimstone" incident, but it seemed more like an age with Goldie all sulky and Sunshine walking on eggshells around him. The awful smell of my tail and mane had worn off enough that Heero could snuggle against me- but not lick my hair, which I missed.

Having Heero close again was nice and damn timely 'cause if I'd had to go without his affection much longer, Goldie was gonna pay big time for being a chewer and making the groomer slather me with the obnoxious-smelling hair treatments.

Not that I had any idea what the payback would be, but I knew how creative I could be. I would think of something if and when the time came.

Goldie made a few crucial adjustments, mostly keeping his mouth shut and butting out of my business, and our happy herd settled down, making one day lead into a comfortable facsimile of the next.

Dull was fine. Nothing unexpected. Nothing dangerous. Eat, drink, and talk.

The weather kept us indoors one afternoon, and with plenty of time to chat, and since we were growing a nice, fuzzy trust for one another, some fuzzier than others, the moment was right when we felt ready to confide to one another about why and how we came to be at the Happy Haven for _Heretical _Horses—my emphasis. My buddies had other terms for us.

Goldie's inner stall door opened and he stood partway out of his stall. "Deviants." Goldie offered up that mean-spirited description of us. I wondered if he'd included himself in that category? He should.

Heero showed his dry precision with, "Unconventional."

"Unusual." Now, that was sporting of Quat.

"_Avant-garde_," Spot slipped in, loving to stick in the exotic word or two he'd picked up from his circus days.

"Whatever. I'm just sayin' that you got to admit Howard's assembled a pretty unique band of horses, and in a good way. Am I right? Just thinking here, but you know I'm especially clever at mechanics, Heero can read, Spot has got a connection with numbers, Goldie is skilled at linguistics, and our little ray of Sunshine here can practically read minds."

"Emotions, Duo. I can feel strong emotions, not read minds."

"Thank the great horse gods in the heavens for that," Goldie grumbled.

"You got something to hide?" I asked him.

And he chose not to answer.

An outdoor window slammed open. Some brave soul was checking on the morning's condition.

"It's not raining," Spot remarked.

"I hope not," Sunshine said. "It's cold in here. That would make it so much worse outside."

I was game to try anything. "We might as well go out. Breakfast's long over and there's nothing else to do but wait for dinner."

"Food. Is that all you ever think about?" Goldie asked as he left his stall.

"Close to it. Gotta small stomach and gotta fill it all the time. And I'm so hungry I could eat a… lot."

"He's still growing," Spot noted.

I was?

We lined up, waiting in numerical order for a handler to drape us in blankets and boot us up for the out-of-doors. Waiting wasn't so bad here. This was the life, the one I'd dreamed about when I'd see the pretty horses trot by in their smart getups. Not that I'd suffered until the end, but I'd never had it as soft as now. I'd never had such service or such nice things or been so doted upon by humans, or by a friend like Heero. Spot looked secretly pleased, too, sharing a quiet nicker with whichever human buckled his blanket in place.

I stood at the door as it opened to a clean, fresh, vista of blinding light. I had to blink a few times to get my bearings, and then I felt the familiar weight of cat clinging to my tail and the gentle touch of a nose pressing into my neck.

"Excuse me, Duo. I smell something new. I need to peek outside."

I shifted a foot and let Sunshine poke his head out the door. My tail felt light again. "Oh! Percy, you stay inside. It's white!"

Spot nudged his stall buddy aside, and I mean Sunshine, not the cat, to get a look out the door. "Well, I'll be. So it is."

I heard a tail smack against his spotted sides. "You saw it! You knew that it would be like this and didn't say!"

"It's not raining. I told you that."

"I'm going out. Move." Goldie was the first to crush a path in the billowing white mounds.

Sunshine was just not mellowing to the moment. "You can walk on it? How do you see the path? It's so cold!"

Apparently, wherever Goldie came from it snowed in winter all the time. He seemed unaffected by the sight and stepped right out. "I remember where it was."

I saved the stupid cat from certain death-by-trampling and tossed him into a cardboard box. He had claws. Tearing his way out would give him something to do to pass the time.

"You're too good to that animal," Heero told me, waiting for me before venturing out. "A cat doesn't deserve your kindness."

"It's a living, breathing creature. Death's an easy thing to bestow, but once done there's no going back. I've seen enough death, 'Ro. Let's go."

"We got it so easy here," I was saying as we joined the others in the snow-covered, outdoor ring.

Sunshine was cavorting about like a crazy horse, kicking up snow one minute and eating it the next. "This is fun!"

Goldie watched from on high. I could feel him about to burst with mortally wounding comments, the pain in his eyes showed from holding it all in.

Good. Bloating is better than gloating—for him.

Spot dug a hole in the snow with his nose, exposing the gravel, and stared for a long while. Did that assure him that the world as he remembered it still existed? I guessed so, because he repeated the digging three more times until he had a hole for each of his hooves to stand in. And there he stood planted firmly on terra firma, his nose pointed out to the far fields where the wild horses lived.

Sunshine's frolicking took him over to Spot's snow-free retreat. "What do you see?"

"White. I was wondering about the horses out there."

"Oh, the poor wild horses. Whatever do they do? How can they survive?"

Heero had wandered closer to the human residences at first and now ambled up to me, standing in the middle of what was our arena.

"Men are packing hay bales onto a truck and I watched another truck drive off onto a back road."

"It must lead to the wild lands," Spot said.

How he knew that, no one asked. It made sense, though, so he was probably right.

Goldie strolled to the fence to watch the men, and listen. After a while, we all joined him. People watching was more interesting than staring into the white expanse.

"What Trowa said, seems to be correct. They are taking the hay to feed the wild horses," Goldie told us. "Apparently, there are shelters built into rock cliffs and the men drop food a couple times a week in winter."

So Howard cared for them, too? I liked him more for that.

Show over, we wandered around the arena a few times then spaced out on the color white in the distance. Time passed and the weak sun faded so that now I was staring into shades of gray, and my stomach rumbled.

"I'm running on empty here," I said, but no one commented. Everyone was back at the fence.

"Over here," Heero called. He loved keeping us together.

"I see lights over at the human house—"

"It's a holiday party," Goldie said with authority. "Howard and that Jenkins man mentioned it."

"A party! I want to go see!" Sunshine could hardly contain himself.

"Geez Louise, you aren't going to get through the fence that way," I started to say a lot more on the subject, including how there were creatures not really alive and not really dead that could do all kinds of miraculous stuff like that, but Heero had to play the smartass.

"_I_ can."

"Okay, maybe you can go through steel fences, I don't know, but Sunshine here can wait for me to open the latch. Aw, great… a new one. Just gimme a sec."

A spotted nose hung over my shoulder. "Can I help?"

Spot had been fairly helpful before, so I gave him space to look.

"Yeah, it's another two-horser."

We jimmied it open without much trouble and drifted over to the sound and lights.

"Looks warm in there. I see a fireplace."

"What fire?"

Nice going, Sunshine. Now you've stirred up Heero's angst.

"It's okay. It's tiny and surrounded by people and rocks. Hey! I see the doctors, Howard and his friend, Jenkins. It looks very cozy and warm inside."

"I hear a car coming. We should get out of sight," Spot warned.

Heero led us around the building to the darkest shadows. "People don't see in the dark. We can watch them from here."

The car appeared spouting obnoxious smelling smoke and stopped to let out a passenger wrapped in the fur of dead animals. I recognized Relena, despite the fur camouflage. And even though I understood why furless humans would want to do that, it made me sad, enough so that I felt justified feeling that she didn't deserve Heero.

"Lady Relena." Heero spoke in that irritating, near-reverent tone of voice he saved for only certain things, like her name.

"She's telling the driver to wait while she goes in," Goldie translated. "She must not expect to stay long."

We watched the girl wrench open the door and sweep inside. The wind caught the edge of the building's door and blew it wide open.

Heero leaned forward. "I'm going closer to hear what's being said."

He meant that Goldie was to move close to the window, and to the asshole's credit he stepped to without argument. He went further than I would have, sticking his head past the front door. I wasn't looking no gift horse in the mouth, that's for sure. If he wanted to be cooperative, I wouldn't be ungrateful and say anything to spook him.

He stood attentively, listening.

"I don't like the feelings inside. Goldie! Come back!" Sunshine whinnied.

Goldie must have come to the same conclusion. He was already scooting backwards, hooves clattering on the stone steps. We all parted like a barn door, making space for him between us to report what he'd learn.

Relena darted out the door and into the waiting car, which sped off in a cloud of smoke.

"There was an argument, most of which I couldn't make out. Relena told Howard, though, and I heard this very clearly, to expect her to come back with a court order to take Heero back."

"What's a court order?" I wondered aloud.

"It can't be good," Spot said.

"It sounds very… official. Howard's face turned pale," Goldie said. He turned to Heero. "I'm sorry. That's all I heard."

Well, that took the starch out of all of us. Even my appetite went south. We all followed Heero back through the arena and uphill and out into the pasture, putting distance between her and us, just like that between all human's and horses, only this one measured in distance instead of thought processes.

Why not just let us _be_ once we'd established our purpose to them? Why keep changing our handlers, the expectations we would have to meet, the rules, the conditions we'd have to work under? I'd never understand humans.

There we stood. After awhile we were standing shoulder to shoulder, backs to the wind. As the day progressed, there came a blizzard. Lots of wind. Lots of snow. And still no one moved to go back home.

When a particularly strong gust blasted over the hillside sending a blinding flurry of snow over our backs and into our faces, I got to thinking it was time to seek the comfort of shelter.

Then an awful rending shriek deafened me. Splitting wood—it had to be.

"Watch out!" Heero whinnied. "Run!"

We ran, following orders without hesitation.

I heard the muffled stomping of our hooves moving fast and clearing a wide area. When we turned, I saw the dark blur of tree branches falling followed with less drama by the slow motion roll of the old trunk down the hill, crushed snow marking its progress.

I felt grateful for the warmth of Heero's neck leaning into mine.

"Just a tree toppling," Spot reassured Sunshine pressed up against his side.

"Such a big one." Good, our little Sunshine sounded okay, nearly plucky.

Even _my_ knees felt a bit flimsy after the frightful noise.

"That was close," Goldie remarked, looking frayed around the edges, his tightly bound mane and tail breaking free in the abrasive wind.

We huddled together and stared into the bleak landscape where the tree had been. Good bye old friend.

Sunshine was first to speak up. "This is the most inhospitable place on earth and I want to go home even though no human has come to take us in."

"Funny that no one's called us in, isn't it, 'Ro?" I asked, feeling creeped out.

"It's wrong."

"It's a holiday. They probably are short-staffed," Goldie said. "Or they are attending the party, too."

"Poor excuse." And Heero was right.

"It's pitch black out here," Spot pointed out unnecessarily.

Heero took a test step forward. "The house is dark, too."

"They've forgotten all about us!" Sunshine wailed and stomped his hoof.

"Or the snow storm has disrupted power." Goldie looked at Heero. "Their kind of power. Something we don't understand."

"Human magic?" Sunshine wondered.

But magic was something Spot understood and he shook his head. "Not magic, but a power they can control and we can't."

"And it's gone?"

Goldie looked into the darkness. "It seems so. Temporarily, possibly."

Heero took another few steps then halted when one leg sank to the knee in snow. "We'll have to go back on our own."

"But how? I can't see the path. We could break a leg." I could hear the rising hysteria in Sunshine's voice. This wouldn't end well, I guessed. Heero's thin ankles, great for running on even surfaces, were poorly designed for slogging through snow.

Maybe Goldie decided that he needed to earn our respect or maybe he simply didn't want to freeze to death without a fight. Whichever, he pulled himself together. "I remember the way."

"So do I," Spot piped up. "I'm heavier. I'll go first."

"No, we'll do it together," Goldie insisted. "The bindings on my legs are for added stability."

Well, well, so it wasn't all for show.

In silent agreement, Heero took up the rear guard position, making sure no one fell behind and on lookout for the big cats. We didn't want Sunshine to worry about that danger now.

I gotta give Goldie credit; he and Spot bravely guided us down the hill through the deep snow to the gate. Both were up to their chests at one point, having gone off course to avoid another downed tree. I was sure glad for Spot's substantial girth and Goldie's wits.

"Don't go there!"

Spot halted instantly. "What's up?"

Goldie pressed on a lump, testing the ground when it bounced. "Another limb, buried."

Had Spot stepped on it, he could have tripped and trapped a leg. "Uh, thanks."

Goldie snorted and shook the snow from his mane, which had lost most of its bands holding it back. I'd never seen it let down outside and it made him appear less stern and gentler.

What was I thinking? That was Goldie! Just because he was helping out didn't make him actually appealing all of a sudden.

Besides, we all looked wild by now. I hated to think what my tail looked like and turned back to see Heero carrying the stiff, frozen tip in his mouth.

"Thanks, love," I said, before thinking.

I hadn't meant to call him "love". You'd call a mate that and he was my best friend. Either it was the cold getting to me or the stress. Yeah, stress. And I did not look him in the eyes. Not the eyes! Good thing I'd caught him with his mouth full, I guess. I did not want to try to explain that little outburst. Sunshine, though, was giving me a questioning look, which I pretended to disregard. I had no excuses for what I'd said or how I felt. And now wasn't the time to think about anything but survival.

"Which way?" Spot asked. His voice sounded shaky either from the cold or fear, most likely an anxiety-laden blend.

Wind whipped our tails and snow plastered us in the face, but no one complained.

"Let's all look," Sunshine suggested. "We can help each other and do it together!"

We all tested the ground in small circles until a path was agreed upon. Spot ploughed forward a few steps. "Feels solid."

"Good."

I kept Sunshine from slipping into a gopher hole once and he offered me a push across an icy patch. We had grit and determination, too! One for all and all for one, and all that togetherness stuff.

"Fence in view." Goldie announced.

"Aw, shit." I heard Spot groan in frustration. He'd made it to the fence and was engaged in kicking at the metal.

Goldie booted the gate for added measure, but it didn't open. I knew we'd left it unlatched on our way through.

"Wedged shut!" Sunshine moaned. "After everything… and this happens."

Snow had banked up against the gate to the arena, though most of it had been knocked off the gate by the kicking.

"I think that fallen tree has wedged against it," Goldie said, giving Heero room to look the situation over.

Sunshine snorted and shuffled his feet, circling in place, keeping warm, I guessed. "My feet are going numb! I won't die this close to home. There's got to be something we can do."

"Don't worry, Beautiful, our leader hasn't given it his magic touch yet."

Heero snorted and corrected him. "Hn. What I have is power not magic."

"Hey that proves you've got a sense of humor- warped, but present, either that or it was just me thinking that had been funny with my brain going frozen."

"Idiot." But he winked at me when he said it.

It wasn't just me impressed by his strength; we _all_ cheered when he kicked the daylights outta the gate, bending the metal frame to the ground so we could climb over.

That hurdle conquered, it still wasn't clear how we'd get to the barn. We struggled with Spot, Goldie, and Heero taking turns forging a path to the barn. Not that Quat and I were weaklings or anything. We couldn't all be out in front, and, well, honestly, he and I were a mite smaller, not that size told the whole story. We made a good job of it, helping each other with a stabilizing nose, a gentle push, or a nicker of encouragement.

Heero steered us away from the thick cables coated in layers of ice lying on the ground. "Power in those. They can burn and kill you. I've seen them spark fire, and when rats bite them, they get fried."

Okay. Nobody questioned him and Spot nodded in agreement, murmuring something I couldn't hear. Sunshine repeated what he'd said, louder, "We think that explains the lack of lights."

Goldie seemed to understand the danger and gave the lines a wide berth. I was so cold I hardly cast the partially covered lines another glance in passing.

The only bit of luck was finding the barn door was wide open, not that a wood door would have meant much to Heero at this point. He barged right in, heading for the stalls.

The wind shook the stall windows, despite being latched tight. It felt cold and unwelcoming. The lights were out and so was the heat. We took turns ripping off the wet boots and helping each other yank off the soggy blankets.

"Can't w-we all huddle together s-someplace?" I could hear the wavering in Sunshine's voice so he must have been chilled to the bone. "It would be w-warmer."

"Good idea. I wouldn't mind warm." I said it good and loud enough for Heero to hear.

Heero led the migration through the barn, past the shredded remnants of a cardboard box, but no Percy, and into the arena, where he pronounced it, "Drafty."

"It's not drafty over here." Sunshine stood in the corner amongst stacks of sweet-smelling straw. "Oh!"

There were two of our part time workers out cold, a bottle of awful smelling chemicals mostly empty between them. Just like my owner. Dead to the world.

"Are they… d-dead?"

"No, but if my past experiences holds true, they'll wish they were come morning."

"Should we do something for them?"

"Nothing to do. Naw, humans drink poison and go to sleep. Howard will be mad as hell to find them off duty this way."

"Explains why we were left out to freeze all night," Heero said. He nearly crushed the legs of one man as he brushed by.

Daintily, Sunshine stepped around them; the rest of us gave them a wide berth.

"We can loosen up a bale and spread it around for a soft bed." Spot's suggestion was met with some enthusiastic kicking, tearing, and hoof action until two or three bales had been freed and pushed into lovely soft billows.

Goldie pushed hay out of a crib against the interior wall of barn, adding nicely to the swelling heaps.

He was chewing it too, which reminded me that I was starving so I grabbed a snack.

"Help me with the chest, Duo!" There was Sunshine back at the stalls and an angry-faced Percy, poor persecuted thing, worrying about his hooves.

I certainly could have done it alone, but I had Heero's help, overseeing the job, and Spot's, lifting the lid after I fiddled the clasp open.

"I know there are more blankets in here. Oh, Percy, no! Stay out!"

Goldie kept the stupid cat back. "Stupid animal. How long do you have to be locked in a box to learn to stay out of one?"

Sunshine generously draped each of us in one of his monogrammed blankets, soft as the fur behind Heero's ears, and then we trotted back to our straw sanctuary. I felt a tug on my tail and heard snickering at my back.

"Percy adores your tail."

I had a cat swinging from my thick, thawing braid.

"Get it off." Ah, my Heero making demands.

Before Goldie could "lend me a hoof" so to speak, I ripped the furball off and dumped him on Spot's ample backside. "Done."

"Keep it away from me," Heero demanded.

"I'll do what I can," Spot promised as best he could and stepped out of the way and next to Goldie in line. It was a cat with a mind of its own, no matter how tiny a mind it might have.

We all snuggled together in one big lump, even Goldie, deep into our straw and blankets and listened to the storm rage on outside. And chewed hay. It wasn't our nice evening mash, but it was substantial and filling and plentiful.

"A warm fire would be nice," Sunshine said. "Out in the desert, we'd collect around a giant campfire—oh! I'm sorry, Heero."

"That's sounds terrible. I hate fire."

And then Heero described the thunder and lightning and the fires that burned down his former home. And then he told us something I hadn't heard about before. "There was a horse behind me. She could have made it out too, but she tripped over the crazy barn cats and couldn't get up… She was an old mare. She told me to go on and save the Lady. I can still remember the smell of burning horseflesh."

"The smell of death is the worst thing ever, no matter how it's delivered." Goldie agreed.

"No kidding." I should know. So, I told them all about the horses I'd worked alongside of and how we were neglected and how they took sick and how my best friend, Solo, died—and how I watched him get eaten away by bugs while I starved, waiting…

Heero had to stop me because I was making Sunshine ill. Spot would have noticed, probably, had his attention not been focused on corralling Percy between his legs. My tail must have looked like a beckoning nest.

I jostled his side. "I know you gotta tale to tell."

I guessed his hesitation had more to do with finding a suitable story that wouldn't upset his little ray of Sunshine than with thinking one up.

"Well, once I stumbled and sent a rider sailing over my head. He could have broken his neck, but he got lucky. He beat me, nearly blinded me."

"Oh, Spot! Let me see the eye. There's just a small scar. Not so bad."

He shook the forelock over his face to mask the eye and the jagged mark above it.

"Not like my legs."

The two nuzzled a moment, whispering comforting words.

"The humans never saw what someone in the audience had thrown into the ring."

"What was it?" Heero asked, and from the gleam in his eyes I woulda bet he was hoping it was a cat and Spot had broken its neck tripping over it. It wasn't a cat, though.

Spot tucked Percy a little further into the hay, a wise move. "A _belt_, but it had looked like a snake."

"Oh, I hate those! One bite and you can die and they are so quick. Snakes are a terrible danger in the desert." Sunshine looked a little wild-eyed and told us in a breathy voice, "I stomped a viper to death once."

"Gutsy," I told him.

"You were very brave to do that," Spot agreed. "I couldn't see well because of the headdress I wore. It was quick and I just reacted badly."

"Justifiable," Goldie declared. "Instinctual reactions are excusable. They are in place to help us survive."

Heero agreed wholeheartedly. "Stupid humans."

Sunshine gave us all grateful looks and nickered sweet nothings in his troubled friend's ear.

"Yeah, well, after that I wasn't trusted with people. I got the big cats. Then the circus went broke and I was first to go."

"And came here." Heero waited for an assent then asked, "The change's been good for you, hasn't it?"

"The best."

"For me, too," I said. "No work and plenty of food."

"Not to mention the company." Heero tugged on my tail, just in case I hadn't noticed how I'd neglected him, and then made a face, curling back his lips from the hair.

"His hair, it still tastes of that foul lacquer?" Goldie tried, but just couldn't hide the interest in his voice.

"Yes, it does, not that it matters to you."

"Well," he muttered something incomprehensible and managed to end with a command to Sunshine, "Your turn."


	11. Chapter 11

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking and Waterlily for her careful editing and for her support of Percy.

**Chapter Eleven— Winter Blues**

**(o) Percy the Cat's POV**

I noticed everyone staring at my Asfar, waiting for his response. No pressure there. Actually, he was smarter than he looked, too smart for his own good. He excelled in everything he tried, bringing attention to himself and then having to meet ever higher expectations. Much better to underachieve and be ignored, in my opinion, than to have to live up to the expectations of others.

"I suppose it is; after all, it was my idea to open up, wasn't it?"

Yep. See? You thought you were being smart, I'll bet, and now? It slaps right back at you, in the face, where it hurts.

"To start, I grew up in the company of an all-female harem. I think I've told you about that before."

"It explains your fondness for ribbons," Killer said.

I couldn't tell if that expression meant he was teasing or not; it looked much akin to his usual, serious expression. It was all in the details, and frankly I didn't care for him. He wanted to _kill_ me, so I don't think my attitude was _at all_ over the top.

"Even the warrior horses wore ribbons streaming from their halters and tails," Asfar insisted in a louder voice. "It's cultural."

Of course it was. I didn't like loud voices, ordinarily, but his voice made me think of home. It carried me back to the desert, and not in a stuffy box with no food or water or… litter tray. Nothing at all of mine.

And does anyone hear me complaining? No, never. I did shred some ribbons in the course of a stressful journey, but that was then. This is now. A stinking-of-horse new place.

"Of course it is, Beautiful. He knows that."

Grr… it really ticked me off when Spot did that, taking my lines and getting all the glory. I just couldn't get the sap to drip off my tongue like he could. I wasn't a horse for one thing. I was a prince—ahem—I'd been a Persian, a Puuuursian prrrince with a harem of my own. I didn't need a sappy tongue. Mine was like sandpaper. Talk about traction.

"He was just pulling your chain." Rope, the gorgeous-haired one, said that. And it wasn't just me; no one understood him half the time. See the chain? Ha! Not even an imaginary one.

Which reminded me—he'd stuffed me in a box and left me to fend for myself, not that there's much around this place to fend for. But! I showed him, tearing the nasty box to tatters. Hmm, much like putting his feed box through the shredder—good idea! Lovely fun.

The box hasn't been created yet to hold Percy, the Desert Prince—not out of cardboard. And if I wasn't so comfortable, if it hadn't taken me so long to _get_ comfortable, I'd get right up and worry knots in his tail.

I can do that later, when I start to feel bored.

Time to stretch.

"Oh. Anyway, I couldn't stay with the females once I was sexually mature, even though I was hidden away."

Hid? The mares wanted you to breed colts of their own with your rare coloring, you naive thing.

"I was discovered. I, ah, being the only horse with the Asfar coloring made it difficult to remain hidden for long. Then sent to stud, where I failed—"

Eh, he'd had a real problem with that, all right, and it was more than just the right lady not coming around at the right time. Everyone knows they've got to be in heat, all hot and ready for action, but the mares brought to our _shiny _boy were raring to go. No, the problem wasn't with the ladies, that's for sure.

I could tell. I knew the difference. I was a hit with the ladies. Left my mark, I did.

His mortifying revelation just got met with a round of understanding sighs? What kind of queer herd of stallions had I got myself mixed up with?

I should just go back to sleep. This was fast becoming uninteresting.

"-and then for training with the war horses. I was a tough as the best of them when it came to riding like the wind over the desert. But the training was difficult and went on for hours at a time; I couldn't concentrate well. You see, I had been taught in the ways of peace and how to avoid bloodshed and disputes. So when I refused to run blindly into a human battle ground and crush the injured—whether it was horse or humans—I just couldn't do it. Their response? More training, longer hours!"

"So you refused to take part in the violence and stand by your pacifist beliefs? There's honor in that."

Good summary, Chewer. Hey, don't look at me that way! I'm just the messenger of the truth, as I see it. Eh, you can't understand me any more than the others so don't look so insulted.

"Thank you."

Aw, Asfar, don't cry now.

"I-I missed my other friends and the warrior horses stuck together in mean little cliques."

He was absolutely correct about that. I had been there and nobody had cared that I'd come from the harem house—not one sign of respect or deference to our position. We were the Sheik's favorites! Well, we _had _been. Clearly we were out of favor by that time. Had it not been for his disastrous bouts with the mares, we might have found a new social set. I was a success with the female crowd, but his failures rubbed off on me, brought us both down.

Oh, how far the Majestic Percy has fallen! Sleeping with outcast horses in a stall in an ice box. Another damn box.

"They told stories at night. Mostly about the battles they'd seen and some just filled with awful images. In the darkness it was dreadful. They discovered how I felt things differently—_more_." He kicked at a pile of straw, which achieved nothing at all but spread dust around.

*Wheeze* I'm trying to sleep and, instead, I'm down here choking in your dust! Not that any of them cared, the big oafs, lounging about- one roll the wrong way, and I'd be Flap Jack Percy.

Are you _still_ telling your sob story? Don't answer that, Asfar. Why do I try? Nobody listens. Except—stop staring, Chewer. Didn't your mama teach you it's not polite to stare? And, no I don't stare. Cats _watch_- or we can meditate with eyes either open or closed. Right now, I'd like to-

"Stop yowling like a tom cat."

Yowling? Me? Oh, Spot, you are so doomed.

"He is a tomcat. Just rub his back."

Nice try, Asfar. Okay, Spot, keep rubbing my back like that and I'll… I'll…

Purr. That's right, right there, purr.

"Where was I? Oh, yes. That wasn't clear, what I'd said. It was more that I felt emotions of others and if they were afraid it could inflame my own fear more. And I believed in the supernatural creepy things which could 'get' me in the dark."

Too bad you didn't see as well as I, then you wouldn't have been so easily fooled.

"Snakes were real."

Snakes were cool. Like rats without the fur part. I love chasing tails and snakes were all tail, if you avoided the bite end.

Was that a hair clump? Time to groom.

"I know, Trowa, and they often did sneak into tents at night, but the scary stories with horrid things were even worse." This time he shivered and shifted around, potentially a small catastrophe considering I was between him and Spot. "It got to be too much. The moving shadows from flames appeared alive. I was so frightened! I had to escape at all costs! I dashed out of the tent into the darkness and ran and ran. Forgetting the perimeter fences and everything not centered on fleeing my torment."

"Sounds pretty awful, Quat, my Beautiful Quat."

Cat! The only thing cat like around here was me and—must clean… *lick, lick*

"Like Goldie said before, running away is instinctual, right?"

UGH! Rope had the gall to swipe his colossal nose across sweet Asfar's back, like that could make him feel better. That was my job, such as it was-.

Dear Lion in the sky, what was I about to say? I have no _job_. It's my _right._ I'm the prince and he and his stall buddy were there to do my bidding, or at least protect me and provide me with food—and water.

"Correct. There's no shame in using your survival instincts."

No shame, no gain. Other leg- *lick, lick*

"Well, thank you, but shame or not it was stupid to go haywire like I did. My legs tangled with the wire fencing, those cruel, little barbs left all the scars you see."

We all looked at the leg he'd extended. Not so bad. I _really_ didn't think it showed that much, but he just snorted at me. I was missing a patch of fur on one of my rear legs, but that was from a fight—something to be proud of.

"Not so bad," Parroted Spot.

_He_ got a pair of big grateful eyes aimed his way. _I'd_ gotten the royal snort.

"Thank you. I try not to think about that night. My human masters found me the next day, dehydrated, delirious enough to actually see the terrible things the mean horses had told me about."

"So that's why you're afraid to be alone at night," Killer deduced.

"Yes."

"Since the humans didn't figure you to be trusted as a battle mount, and the scaring meant you were no good for showing purposes, they had run out of uses for you," Chewer said, putting plenty of bite into his tone to make me think he'd had similar experiences. "Humans are so narrow-minded about such things."

"That's about right, Goldie," Rope put in. "He was pretty much washed up, so they sent him here," he added, just begging Chewer to argue with him. "Just like the rest of us."

"You are right-"

Is Chewer mad or something? He's being nice to Rope.

"Yes, we're all lucky, now I can see it. What happened to you?"

Oh, Asfar, you've opened yourself up to his hostile attack.

"Nothing—no, that's not true. I… I spent only the great Horse God above knows how long moping because I had failed 'Nataku.'"

Ah, I'll bet he's the type to go off and brood on his failures and unworthiness.

"Nataku?"

"My mate. I'd shamed her when I'd failed to mount properly and consummate our pairing properly, and because I was weak."

"You don't seem weak to me at all, not the way you ploughed a path through that snow."

"No, I was weak. I must have been, because I'd been condemned to parade duty rather than entered into battle. While we were outside I was nearly overcome with homesickness. Crossing snow-covered plains carrying a real warrior of the clan. Not all the horses made it, but I did. I thought I'd performed my duty well. It was painful to never have that honor again."

Whine, whine whine… the infernal whine of a wuss. And now my stomach was acting up. Great.

"And maybe putting you in a parade was a way of rewarding you for a job well done? I loved being in parades with the warriors. It was something I could do with pride," my dear compassionate prince said.

No, sweetheart, life doesn't work that way.

"I must have failed."

"That's crazy talk, Goldie," Rope said. "As if humans know what a horse's made of inside. Look at Sunshine here. He's a brave as they come. He just didn't wanna risk lives for nothin' so they kept at him until he goes berserk."

Chewer wanted to suffer, even I could tell that much.

"I know what you're saying," Spot said. "It was degrading to catch cats on my back, rather than people. It made me feel inferior."

"Hey, I'm sorry bout dumping the furball on you. I didn't think about what I was doing. Really sorry."

Oh, boo who. The insults didn't pass me by, Rope- just wait until I'm alone in your stall, sharpening my claws on your food bin, and Spot, hacking up an actual _fur ball_ in your food bin will be a pleasure.

"Heh, it's all right. That puny one doesn't count, you know."

Puny? Grr… You say that now.

"Yeah, humans can really mess with your head, for sure. My owner promised me I'd pull a tandem rig with Solo—a real promotion. Then he up and got sick on spoiled grape juice stuff. Don't be so hard on yourself, Goldie."

"Thank you… everyone. I appreciate what you are trying to do for me. I—"

Oh, come on and spit it out: you're a chewer. A horse with a purpose would not be focusing on **hair** if he wasn't.

"I engage in equine nibbling. It's a nerve problem."

Oh, catkins, _that_'ll set off my Asfar's compassion button.

"You've got good qualities, too! You must learn to concentrate on those and not Duo's beautiful hair."

"Yours, too."

"Yes, and mine. Same with you, Trowa. You are a wonderful dancer. Your rolls and jumps are thrilling. You would have been prized by the harem."

*Hack* *Gack* Oooh, fur ball coming.

"You must focus on getting along or castration procedures will begin."

"'Ro's right. I swear I just might bite yours off if the vet comes—"

Eew!

"Duo! No. It's bad enough that my behavior and Wufei's is under suspicion. Don't add mutilation to the list."

"Sorry, 'Ro. Getting carried away."

"Threats won't be necessary. I promise to improve, although, without my honor, what am I?"

"You're pretty quiet."

Yay, Spot!

"Yes, he is, but easily aroused. And you are Bold, Alert and Intelligent."

Asfar, my little cheerleader. *Gack*

"And Brave," Rope added.

"Strong," came from Killer.

"Thank you. Thank you all. I promise, on my honor, to be more cooperative from here on out."

Now bow, no, that's Spot's trick. You all look alike in the hoof.

"And by the way, Quatre, your cat is insane."

I say!

Chewer pushed his big fat nose in my face. "I can hear you and understand everything you say."

_No._

"_Yes,_ I can. So, watch what you say, or "Killer" will earn his nickname."

Meow!

"You realize you're picking on someone smaller than you. Not much honor to be had in that, seems to me.

"Don't listen to Trowa. That creature is just grease under my hoof."

And *hack* *gack* *hack* *gack* Aaaaaaaaaaaaach!

"Yuck Almighty! What did Percy just chuck up? Another cat?"

**(o) Duo POV**

We shoved the nasty wet fur thing Percy hacked up way, way far way. And it was no easy thing getting Heero to forgive and forget the mess spit up nearly on his knees. Spot saved Percy, hid him in the straw, I think, while Sunshine begged us to 'find a comfortable spot to lie down'." He managed to calm Heero, which was like trying to hand-tame a rattlesnake, but eventually calm was restored.

We each assumed the same positions we slept in every night, no matter where we were. Heero, who usually only stood, as he assured me over and over, made a huge concession and ultimately lay down next to me, curling bit like Spot, but insisted on being angled with his nose right by the door.

Spot 'always slept on the same side', which meant I had to shift about to make room for his bulk, and to watch that Percy, nestled in near him and Sunshine, was kept out of Heero's line of sight and far from Heero's feet.

Sunshine made a nest, spinning and pawing to arrange the bedding just so, and until Spot pinned his legs still.

Goldie banked shavings for a pillow.

It took hours.

It had been a full day and we all really needed to let settle in what had been said. This meant Sunshine had to talk to Spot and Goldie until his head was cleared. I could hear the soft rhythm of his voice, but not the words. I didn't hear a grunt out of the other two. They might have even fallen asleep.

I was drowsy and yet awake with stuff on my mind. "Hey, Heero?"

"What is it, Duo?"

"Just—I thought it was pretty nice of you to pick up on Sunshine's distress today. You know, out in the snow?"

"I'm glad you think so. Good night."

"Um—"

"What now?"

"Naw, it's stupid."

"I'm sure it isn't."

"Well, you're wrong, 'Ro. Forget it."

"Prove me wrong and tell me what's on your mind."

"All right. I was wondering if you could say my name like you say Relena's." Okay, that sounded pretty stupid said aloud. In my head it made only barely more sense.

Then came this breathy voice, low and taut with passion, making my lips curl. "Duuu-o."

Oh, _my_. "That was… that was amazing. I'll never complain again about her again—" Not as long as he kept saying my name that way.

"I love you, too, if you hadn't guessed."

Hh? Hh! Breathe! I couldn't breathe! Okay. That just blew me away. Took my breath clean away. Oh, wow.

Choke. Wheeze.

I didn't want to get into all that right now, being all warm and comfortable after the workout in the snow, but I couldn't think about anything else. He loved me.

Solo'd loved me, taken care of me. We'd been best friends. That was love.

I loved Heero too. And we were best friends. So, why was I shaking?

Well, I wasn't so warm and comfy any more. No sirree. I was wide awake with chills running down my back like I was in a panic.

I _was_ in a panic.

Erck! I nearly wrenched my neck whipping it around to see if any of the others had overheard. I felt a sharp kick in the butt and jerked my head around just in time to hear Sunshine nicker his amusement. I figured we'd be having a little talk the next day, where he'd try to wrangle the juicy details of this conversation outta me. Great.

"They're talking over there and not listening to us, idiot."

"Oh. Oh, well, ah. Yeah."

"Is that all?" Heero asked, bearing down on me with that intensity of his.

Had I said anything intelligible yet? No. "Oh, um, no. What I mean is, ah, it's cool."

"Cool? I tell you how I feel and you say 'it's cool'? That's it? _Cool?_"

"No, no, no! It's better than just that. I'm, ah, speechless. Unprepared."

"You said it first. You called me love."

"Well, geez, it just came out when we were out there fighting for our lives."

"When you thought I hadn't heard? Or did you think we'd all die and you wouldn't have to face me? Or it was by accident and you didn't mean it?"

"What? No! Not at all. It wasn't like that. I don't know what it was like, but it most certainly wasn't like that at all. No. Not a bit. Not in the slightest."

"Duu-o. How do you feel now? About me?"

Oh, he'd said my name THAT WAY again and I felt all "woozy, oozy."

"Woozy…oozy? What the hell does that mean?"

Oh… "My legs have gone all soft."

"All woozy, oozy?"

"Yeah, like that."

"Your brain, too."

"Yeah… No! I'm okay."

"You don't have to say it if you don't feel it. Just go to sleep."

But I wanted to say it! I did! I licked his nose, his chin, his muzzle and up to his eyes, which he'd closed. Here goes. "Love, you, 'Ro."

It was his turn to go mute. His eyelashes swept up. He blinked. Twice. He stretched his neck full out and licked my nose and lips with his long, long tongue. "There. Now, be quiet."

"Ah, sure thing." Yeah, right. Like I could sleep _now_.

Sunshine had shut down, too.

"Night!"

"Night, 'Ro."

But I lay awake, my heart pounding so hard straw moved. I'd never, ever fall asleep.

I was positive what with all the 'love' talk swirling around and around in my head- and the licking, so I counted individual sticks of hay. One… two…

Somewhere around two, one for each hoof, front hooves, I drifted into dreamland.

Yes, feeling pleased with the new sleeping arrangements and my life in general, my eyelids drifted down, down, when the snoring started up and my eyelids snapped open.

"Who the hell?" Heero grumbled.

"He must be relaxed and happy for the first time since he got here."

The snoring continued undisrupted. He snored so loudly, I would have bet I coulda heard him two or three barns away.

Still it had a kinda mesmerizing quality to it, a cadence that rose and fell in a vague and fuzzy sort of way.

Although it took most of the night to work its magic, as it turned out, Goldie's snoring put us all to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for all the edits and to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking.

**Chapter Twelve— Spring Thaw: Meet the Mustangs **

**(o) Heero's POV**

Howard pushed his employees to restore power and repair the gate. Machines roared, cutting the fallen trees into uniform logs and I watched men stack the results into orderly piles away from the wooden structures. I knew the men would burn the wood, but it didn't appear to be in any danger of bursting into flames while carpeted with snow. I would keep it under observation.

Even more satisfying than observing tidy wood piles was to watch Quatre's cat be groomed and his claws clipped. He despised it. I was told a box had been built off the ground so he could rest safely out of hoof reach. My rear hooves could reach it without a problem, if the time should come to rid us of the nuisance.

Wufei improved dramatically. Whether it had been just a matter of time or Quatre's "talk it out" strategy had changed his outlook, I don't know. A combination. What was important was my stallion herd was no longer causing Howard a reason to invite the vet for an intervention or to separate us.

Ever in the back of my mind, and of Duo's, I knew, was Relena's threat of "a court order" to get me back. There had been a time when I'd wanted nothing more than to be her mount and obey her commands, but now I wanted to remain where I was with my herd, and especially with Duo.

It hurt in my chest when I tried to imagine leaving Duo. Of missing his attention, his chatter, and his affection. I would miss them all, but parting from Duo would kill a component of me, the piece he'd awoken and now thrummed whenever he was near me. Call it heart, but it wasn't the muscle pumping my blooded that I meant, a part of me which held the meaning of life and purpose.

I was in love with him, and to a depth I hadn't believed I'd had.

We had discussed the problem to some extent, but not much. Whenever he raised the subject of us being torn apart, I stopped him. It hurt too much.

I'd told him the longing I'd once had for Relena had gone, and I'd vowed to find a way to stay near him, even going as far as to join up with the wild horses. He'd go with me, of course, I knew he'd _mean _to and would, if he was able.

Quatre has always been certain it would never go that far, and Wufei has said that Howard is fighting the court order. Trowa has been smart enough to say nothing about what he can't control.

I couldn't ask for a better herd.

Our "cozy nest", as Quatre put it, had been torn up once the power had been restored. No more unrestricted, band-of-brotherhood sleeping arrangements; Trowa and Quatre were still allowed to room together at night, though. I don't know why they were allowed that preferential treatment.

Duo and I slept apart as usual, since I prefer to stand and he likes to lie down it only makes sense, but I could see the attraction of the group "pile on," if only to hear Duo's steady heart beat. No, so that in _particular _I could feel his heart beat and the warmth and security of his real-ness next to me. I'd like that a lot.

The one wonderful change which occurred was the advent of the jumping hurdles. I had always wanted to jump. Other horses at Relena's stables had been trained, but not I. Again, I didn't understand why, and I felt it was very unfair to overlook me that way. So, when I saw the men setting them up in the indoor arena, I was very excited. Howard had to hold me back or I would have charged right into and over them all. He insisted Wufei go first. He'd been trained to jump with a rider. I couldn't argue with that logic, so I waited my turn and watched and studied and learned.

The day came when Doctor J took charge and I jumped alone. Around and around the arena I jumped, timing my leaps and my steps so I moved with fluid perfection. I could tell he was pleased with my progress, because he climbed into the saddle and my real training began.

I was a natural, which I'd known all along. I could have jumped far longer than he permitted. My stamina was to be built up, my legs muscles developed gradually, he told Howard, who agreed. I might have figured out the meaning, but it was convenient to have a translator nearby. Yes, I had formed a grudging respect for Wufei; it would have been deeper and more freely given had he not bonded with the cat.

We learned to enjoy the snow, although we never ventured beyond our outdoor corral, not after the ordeal we'd gone through before. Besides, we had the indoor arena for exercise. Wufei claimed it made him if not yearn for then feel great sorrow for the loss of his homeland and wouldn't go outside at all, which pleased Quatre. Quatre refused to go out longer than it took to get wet and then said he'd keep Wufei company.

Trowa seemed interested in seeing wild horses, but he wasn't fond of the snow. He didn't like cold legs and excused himself from the corral most days. A few times he claimed he smelled cougars out there. Whether he actually did or not, held no significance. Staying within the confines of the corral was fine with me. I didn't care. I had my indoor hurdles for entertainment later.

And Duo.

Duo was the only one who said he missed the wild. I wondered if his being an urban horse had blocked his contact with nature, and this was a deep-seated need of horses. The wild lands stirred something in him, possibly a break for freedom. I promised him I'd lead us all to the pasture and beyond as soon as there were signs of spring.

I wouldn't do that for any horse, just Duo, and not because he was so attractive with the most unimaginably gorgeous tail and mane ever to swamp a horse. He was so versatile. From what he'd told me about his life in the city, he was tireless. He could work hard all week long and look handsome pulling fancy carriages for kiddie rides on the weekend. His loyalty was undivided and nothing scared him, including fire. His rider adored him, so did Howard, and so did I.

"Rise and shine! I hear birds singing so it's spring."

There were times I liked him less, like when he cheerily woke me out of my pleasant morning doze—a time when I did my best thinking- to head out into the cold air. At least he wasn't urging us out before breakfast was served. I'd put my hoof down about that. It had to be warm and sunny first before Quatre would venture out without food. It baffled me that Duo would venture out without his morning mash; he was very food oriented. When I questioned him, he told me he stuffed himself with hay before going outside. I should have guessed.

As much as he ate, he burned every bit of it off. He could run forever at nearly the speed of Quatre. I might outrun them all, but the other horses had more endurance. I had more brute force, but Wufei could apply his with much determination and Trowa more weight. We were a formidable herd and I was proud to lead them.

I jumped at Duo's unexpected shout. "OATS?"

I didn't like having to greet the day on empty and didn't appreciate Duo reminding me of what I'd miss if I went out, so I grabbed a bite of hay, and nearly ran down a babbling stable boy who smelled of grain.

"Where are you going now?" I asked. It was a fair question. Duo'd whipped around and headed back to his stall so fast it was funny. His head, then ass, disappeared back into his stall. His braided rope of tail, usually tied up in a couple loops, had come loose and was all that was left of him, dragging along the floor.

The sound of oats and molasses mixing in my feed bucket made my mouth run, and I wondered no longer why Duo had vanished into his stall. I stuck my nose in deep and munched contentedly, while the stable boy moved past Trowa's empty stall and on to Quatre's, chattering to himself as he went.

I could barely make out the shuffling of hooves as the other horses readied themselves for the early meal, the very welcome early meal.

The stable boy tied up Quatre's hooves, because the desert horse hated the mud. The rest of us pushed on, not caring enough to bother with "booties."

"What's the human saying now? He keeps pounding on the stall walls."

Wufei nudged the boy away from his feet. "He says they are taking out the stall divider between number… between Quatre and Trowa today. He calls them 'pretty boys', just so you know. It's to give them more room, since they seem determined to share."

The news delighted Quatre, who nickered and blew the boy's hair into a mess, and possibly Trowa's, too. He watched the other horse with his single visible eye and said only, "Considerate of them."

The morning was the nicest in a long time, and, feeling pleasantly full, the entire herd set out for the far pasture with "an extra kick in our trotters", as Duo put it. I saw no snow, not even patches in the deepest pits or shade.

"Grass! Oh! It's so sweet and fresh and green!"

Quatre was deliriously happy. His excitement rubbed off on Trowa. He danced for Quatre, I guess, more _with_ Quatre, the two of them spinning around.

"If only I had my ribbons! It would be ever so much more fun!"

That would have made a pretty sight, although, not very much in keeping with warrior spirit, I thought. I had my questions about those Winner Warrior stallions.

Wufei kept his head down, searching for green to nibble. Wise choice. A full mouth was a quiet one. At last, he was learning some tact.

Next time I looked up, Duo had joined in the dance. "You'll shake loose your hair ties," I warned him.

He shook his rear end harder, and _at_ me. I watched in fascination as the bow slipped and the ties slid… off.

"You can't mate with it." Wufei punctuated his comment with a snort.

And yet, I'd more than once imagined a way it could be done—

"He's too young."

"He's not…I wasn't… I know…" I sputtered, unable to finish any of those lame excuses aloud.

"Follow me."

Mortified that he'd noticed my interest in Duo, one that hadn't been returned in the same manner and that remained unconsummated, and needing a distraction from the alluring adolescent stallion, I shut my mouth and trailed the gold horse. We sauntered to the far edge of the pasture, stopping at the gate, a new one, which had replaced the one I'd bent flat during the blizzard. There we fussed with the latch, without success, and had just resorted to kicking at it when Duo trotted over to show off.

Did he have any idea how striking he was, his gleaming black sides, flowing mane, cocky gait? He was young (not too young!) and a member of my all-stallion herd and had repeatedly rejected my sexual advances. So much for trying to divert my prurient thoughts, and not just any sexual thoughts either. And not for the first, second, or third time!

"Lemme through, lemme through! Let the pro do his job!" Duo's ass bumped my nose as he passed by.

And not for the last time would _those_ thoughts cross my mind.

Wufei studied what he did. Very closely. His nose dangerously close to a few stray mane hairs. "How do you get your lips to do that?"

"Talent and practice." Duo hopped out of chew-range, bumping me in the process. "Got it! Try as they like, there's no lock I can't beat."

"Or one that… *wheeze*… Heero can't beat into submission," Trowa quipped between sharp intakes of breath.

I was glad for his interference. Really glad. "Winded?"

"A little. Maybe… I should do the hurdles to build my…*wheeze*… stamina."

"Or you can dance _more_ with me!"

Trowa's head shot up, but not in Quatre's direction, as I would have supposed. If Duo was my "distraction", the pretty yellow and cream horse was Trowa's. But this was something else, his ears rotated forward and he strained to see off into the distance.

I snapped to alert. "What?"

"Wild horses?" Wufei guessed.

"Yes. Close." Trowa's neck stretched and his nostrils cupped in more wisps of scents. His banded mane sported bits of twigs and grass. The clown must have been rolling over the ground.

Duo stamped his feet with excitement. "How 'bout we go meet them then."

"Is it safe?" Quatre danced nervously ahead. I didn't think he cared, really. He seemed too excited by the notion of meeting "wild" anythings. He tore a tangle of weeds from the ground and waved them around. I was afraid he might start dancing to welcome the Mustangs, which they would probably think was incredibly strange, but he spat out the vegetation instead. At least I had one less concern.

Now, if only Duo would stay out of the action, not get involved in a fight, and let me do my job.

"No. Not safe at all!" Duo answered for me, racing past me, headlong into danger.

Sigh. My job got harder.

Quatre caught up with him and then Wufei trailed closely by Trowa. I let the others go ahead, preferring to take rear guard duty and keep an eye out.

We galloped further from home than we ever had, noses held high, the wind in our ears. Up the hill and down. Snorting and stomping hooves echoed down the canyon, and they weren't all ours.

Wild horses were coming our way.

I felt a warm body shove into mine and Wufei's nose appeared in my face. "You realize the danger here."

"They are unknown horses."

"Territorial disputes are sure to begin. This isn't our home; we are the invaders."

Automatically, Duo and Trowa drew up along me. We stood in formation ready for an all-out battle for supremacy. Rumbling like thunder storm, Wufei paced and snorted, running back and forth behind the lineup.

Surprisingly, it was hot-blooded Quatre who trotted to the forefront, meeting the Mustang vanguard nose-to-nose.

(o)

"Hello! I'm Quatre Raberba originally from the Winner Warrior Stables and currently a resident of the Horse Haven Sanctuary. My desert name is Asfar, but you can call me Quat, if you like."

The mustang appeared stunned and tongue-tied. Quatre could be a little over the top at times.

"Hello? Call me Quat."

"Uh, hi, Cat. You seem awfully nice and all but- Listen the boss stallion's on his way and he's not keen on having more stud competition, so I recommend you guys haul ass back where you came from before he gets here."

This one appeared healthy; I estimated she was a year younger than I and slightly smaller with shaggy patches of fur, a sure sign of having lived outside all winter. Since his friendly approach was buying us time, I let Quatre prolong the greetings so I could size up the herd moving our way.

"Thank you for the warning. What's your name?"

"Hilde." She looked nervously over her shoulder. "Look, forget about me. You'd better git and fast."

A large, handsome, mature stallion stood, posed, at the back of the wild herd, measuring us with his eyes. I interpreted his intimidating posture to mean business. And yet… too large, too fine-boned. "That is no mere Mustang; that was an escaped purebred."

I suspected a couple of the other wild horses were fugitives from human confinement, thinking of the lead mare in particular. She positioned herself front and center of the band of wild horses, a dun-colored female, snorting and shaking her tail and mane aggressively. I didn't think her attitude was a façade to cover for fear, either. I think she was ready to tear us apart. I wasn't sure which looked more formidable an opponent.

"Arresting." Wufei breathed in my ear, startling me.

I hadn't heard him close in on me like that, because I had focused my attention on that angry, lead mare. I slid a quick glance his way. "What was that?"

"The stallion in back is a powerful fighter. I'll take him on."

"So is the female, but I aim to avoid a fight."

Wufei may have respected my position as leader, but that inflated ego of his made him daring. "I'm capable of beating him."

I doubted he could and I had the sense not to say that to his face. "We are outnumbered."

It was time for me to decide what our herd would do. I poked at Quatre, nosing him into the line-up behind me. "I'd like to meet your leader," I told the emissary called Hilde, "and then we'll leave."

"Well, I don't know how that will go. I don't decide anything, but I'll tell her."

"Her?" I indicated the angry one with a shake of my head.

"Yes, the lead mare, of course. Where's yours?"

"We have no mares," I told her, aware of the guarded pace of the oncoming horses.

"Oh, well, our leader is called Lady Une; 'Une' for number one, you know?"

"And the older stallion?"

"The Alpha. I wouldn't mess with him, or Lady, if I were you."

"No."

I kept my eyes moving from the stallion to the mare, watching as he left his rear guard duty and trotted to the forefront. They were so close I could hear them speak.

"I'll take care of these young lads. Keep your mares back. Way back."

"I say we attack and send them back where they come from," the mare countered. "I have mares in heat clamoring to meet the new males."

"Oh, dear, don't try to manipulate me with that old line. Now, let me do my job and you do yours."

So, I was to deal with the Alpha in round one. I adjusted my stance and looked to my left where Wufei had settled into position. I knew he hadn't any real battle experience, but I appreciated his loyalty while at the same time hoped he didn't provoke the wild horse to attack.

And then Quatre appeared on my right again. "Greetings!" he called out as if he were calling his friends to share his afternoon mash. "We come in peace and brotherhood."

The forceful personality of the older stallion hit us like a wind. I had to fight my flee impulses to stand my ground.

"You bring a herd of stallions to challenge me?"

"No, Sir! We were curious who you were."

"And if I choose not to believe you?"

"I appeal to your supreme wisdom and sense of fair play!" Quatre cried out.

As diplomatic as Quatre was being, I decided he was over his head with the Alpha, who was no ordinary horse. I could tell by his refined manner of speech that he had once been a human's saddle horse. A civilized horse gone feral was unpredictable.

Duo must have felt the same misgivings. I heard him mutter behind me. "Oh, brother. This could go bad fast."

The Alpha continued to display his dominance with his arched neck and aggressive stance. I returned his challenge like the fool lead stallion I felt I was, and he brushed me off with a shake of his mane.

"Let me explain how I see this," he said. "Most ranchers attempt to improve the breeding of local mustang herds by killing off the dominant male in the herd and replacing him with males with a pedigree."

Quatre gasped, reacting sympathetically, and not at all as the Alpha expected, as I read him. "Oh, how terrible! I just know the Doctors aren't going to do that! They just want to protect you, give you new land to range. They love horses!"

Nice try.

"Just putting us out to pasture—" The Alpha inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. I wondered if he used breathing to control his urge to execute the yellow horse on the spot, just in time to find his powerful gaze leveled on me.

"And you? What are your intentions? You bring no mares of your own. I won't share mine without a fight to the death."

Quatre courageously answered back, "Oh! Well, I, ah, that is, some of my friends may be violent and dangerous, but we're all really nice guys. So, you don't have to worry-.*"

"We have no interest in your mares," I established, cutting Quatre off, since the other horse wasn't listening to him anyway.

"Absolutely not!" Quatre agreed fervently, stepping aside so I would be in front.

"Not a bit," Duo said.

"Nope," Trowa said.

"I wouldn't dream of touching any of them," Wufei said, nose held high. "There's no justice in taking that which isn't ours."

"I see. Actually, what I see is a race horse, a carriage horse, a couple of show horses, and," the Alpha raked Trowa over with a searing gaze, "I have no idea what you were used for, but you aren't far removed from the backwoods."

"That's very narrow-minded of you," Wufei snapped. He was working himself up for something, and I didn't approve, but I hadn't the experience to know how to stop him. "When you limit your understanding of the breeds, you create absurd characterizations. You are, in fact, wrong on all accounts; two of us are famous warrior breeds!"

I was pleased that Wufei had included Quatre in that class, but I wished he hadn't said that. Warrior _breeds_? Yes. Actual fighters? No! How could he not see he'd lose a pissing contest with the veteran stallion?

But it was too late.

"Really?"

A glint in the mustang's eye was the only giveaway of his sarcasm, one Wufei didn't miss. The golden horse took up an aggressive pose. Damn! He'd been baiting the older stallion to fight him all along, and I'd missed that.

"Yes! Your slight to my heritage requires retaliation!" Wufei lunged first, front legs lashing out and missing. Wufei agilely skipped about and avoided a collision with the larger stallion's heavier hooves.

I admired his quickness and daring kicks, even though he only landed on onto soft flesh.

The Alpha shouted, "My tail!" and I caught a glimpse of hair hanging from Wufei's mouth.

Before stepping in to stop the attack, I glanced over my herd to see that they were safe. All I saw were Mustang mares. Damn, again! I'd taken my attention off their leader. How stupid could I have been?

I leaped to the side and just missed getting my brains kicked out of my skull and splattered over the rocks. This "Lady" wasn't holding back. I spun around, looking for Wufei.

"Eyes on me, purebred!"

Purebred. She meant me, of course. I never heard the word sound so sullied. Une drove on, attacking over and over, keeping me from aiding Wufei. While the Alpha had seemed to be toying with him, Une was a blood-thirsty demon intent on damaging me. I was grateful for every drop of my hot-blooded, purebred strength and speed.

I sprinted out of her reach and for an instant spied Wufei sprawling on the ground. He may have been nimble enough to trim the powerful stallion's tail, but the older Alpha stallion was cagy, experienced in battle, and had outmaneuvered him. "Wufei! Get up before you get crushed!"

**(o) Trowa's POV**

_Gol-dern_! I wanted to be just about any place else than where I was, surrounded by a bunch of intimidating mares. It stank of the circus. Going in circles with no way out.

"Now ain't you cute? And your fur's so fine—like a newborn's. My name's Catherine. What's yours?"

"Doesn't matter, ma'am," I said as politely as possible while leaving no doubt of my lack of interest in horsing around. "We'll be leaving in no time."

I had an eye on Beautiful, who seemed to be holding his own. He'd been talking a mile a minute. When I switched over to Duo, a female was bumping and grinding into him and he just took it. What was wrong with that coltish stallion? It was as if he didn't recognize a hot mare when he sniffed one.

"Hey! No time for messing around," I said, then more sharply I whinnied, "Yo, Duo! Get yer ass over here!"

"What?"

His eyes were glazed over. Hormone overkill. Great horse feathers!

"That mare's set her sights on you and is backing into you, can't you tell? Move away."

"I can see that, but so what?"

"Haven't you been around a mare in heat before?"

"Er, no."

"Well now you have. You know what that means, right?"

"Overheated?"

Oh, shit. He looked totally mystified. Hadn't any of the older horses he'd lived with ever bothered to tell him about the birds and bees? Hadn't he and Heero ever gotten around to trying anything? Talked at least? Ah, crap.

"Oooh!" Hilde whinnied with glee. "I've gotta first-timer!"

And that's when I knew we were in trouble. We were encircled and out-numbered. I couldn't see what had happened to Wufei, but every so often I could hear Heero snorting over the noise of foot stomping and teeth gnashing. There was nothing I could do for them until I broke free of the mare-corral, penned-in like caged animals. I hated the feeling.

"Beautiful, can you get between Duo and Hilde?"

I realized my blunder, calling out my personal name for my lover 'round all those mares like that, and paid for it a second later.

"You called?" The brown and white patchy lady was in my face again. "Hey, you great, handsome stallion with the crazy spots! Did you notice I have spots, too? Big spots. I'm pinto. Come get a closer look."

"Ah, no thanks." I rotated to my left blocking a path for Beautiful. "Er, ah, Quatre, come around behind me now!"

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" screeched a nearly-white mare who'd been bullying my beautiful friend.

That made my blood boil. Or maybe I was starting to suffer from the hormone over-load.

"I'm sorry, D-dorothy, but I'm not the stallion for you. I-I don't mean to be rude. Oh, dear! Let's not come to blows over this."

I guessed Beautiful had his hooves occupied, too.

"Duo, just say **no**." I didn't have time to explain the finer points of male-female romance with the love of Heero's life. "Hightail it over here now and keep away from her. She's trying to get you to mate her."

"Well, honey, _you_ sure know one end from the other. Why don't we show him how it's done? Put on a little show?"

I had actually mated before, not something I was proud of -or had told anyone about- and I certainly didn't want to do it ever again. I wanted to avoid contact with these mares at all costs and for many reasons- countless reasons and I could count pretty high.

There were hormones getting messed with, which were completely separate from sexual desire. If Duo'd never been approached by a mare in heat, no wonder he was mystified. He sure didn't understand what that mare was doing or what happening to him, and he was shortly to become overwhelmed by the lure. I decided to first save my Beautiful and then together we could get Duo and break free of the noose of mares.

"I've refused as politely as possible, Miss Dorothy," Beautiful was telling the ivory mare.

"You insulted me for the last time. Take this!" she lashed out.

Suddenly I saw a bright splotch of red. She'd bit his shoulder!

"You hurt me!" he cried.

"You're bleeding!" I reared onto my hind legs and came down on the demon horse. "You bit the kindest, gentlest horse alive." Seeing her, the one who'd attacked the beautiful creature my world revolved around, my spiritual guide, well- I may have lost my head about then and possibly over-reacted a tad.

I was kicking and nipping, and the circle of mares widened. Others were pushing the females away, and without warning my Beautiful pressed up against me on one side and Duo on the other.

"I heard Heero's neigh," Duo shouted in my ear.

I heard him then, too. "Trowa! Duo! Get Beauti, er, Quatre out of here! Now! Don't let them trap you!"

Of course, that was a bit like shutting the stable door after the horses have bolted. The bad had already happened and the situation couldn't be undone. What we had to do was break out and head for home.

Duo moved around to sandwich Beautiful between us. "Let's blow this scene, how 'bout it?" he said.

I spotted blood oozing from the shoulder wound and nearly turned back to kick the living shit out of that she-devil, but my Beautiful needed me so I ploughed forward and pushed a couple of the smaller mares aside. Duo and I kept the pace even and steady, going left onto the trail we'd taken in and listening for the hoof-falls of the others before stepping up the pace.

"I hear them beating the ground. One's 'Ro for sure," Duo huffed and puffed.

I chanced a look over my shoulder and saw Heero and Wufei, the chewer limping slightly. That wasn't a good sign.

"Think we won?" Duo asked.

"No, they are letting us go, with a warning not to return," Beautiful answered. "I just wanted to make friends. I don't understand what went wrong. I should have picked up on how they felt!"

We'd been like colts in the woods and unprepared for the harsh realities of the wild world. I wasn't thinking about a return trip. I was hoping to escape and make it home.

**A/N: * This was paraphrasing a quote out of the original series.**

Horse Notes:

Wild Mustang horses have no specific conformation. Shapes and the horse's physical build vary because they have mostly been bred in the wild without the benefit of human intervention. It is possible to see the colorings of appaloosa, pinto, palomino, buckskin and black as well as the full range of browns and reds. Horses left to roam free during the winter basically fend for themselves, food wise, unless they are in preserves or sanctuaries.


	13. Chapter 13

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Special thanks must go to Waterlily for all the iterations of edits and to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking and especially the gate, fence, and lock information.

**Chapter Thirteen— Locks are for Wusses **

**(o) Duo's POV**

I'd been told by Solo, my chief source of information on horse culture while growing up, to me respectful of my elders, polite to the ladies, and gentle with those younger. He also said I was different and to "stay that way." By "different" I thought he meant like "cool", but as I grew up I learned he meant I was "intact" while he'd been "gentled." I was a stallion. He was a gelding, as were the other horses that passed through our stable over the years.

What I had never gotten was contact with mares. Oh, I crossed paths with one or two while doing the park circuit, but not enough to gain any real knowledge about them. And you'da thought I'd picked up on the whole mating ritual, but I hadn't. Solo failed me there, but then he might have figured it was on a need-to know basis and since he and I weren't given any opportunities, I guess my "need to know" was zilch.

In any case, I knew stallions "herded" and "mounted" mares, and raked Heero over the coals at first about doing that to me—not that it stopped him—until we agreed on making it a game, of sorts, where he always got to win and be on top, the bossy thing, but I myself never had any real drive to do either.

Now I that I'd had first-hand experience with mares, I'd learned that female hormones could do a job on a guy's head. They could be as determined as all get out and were very, very scary.

The mares had confused me, distracted me from lending a hoof where hooves were needed. I felt bad about leaving 'Ro in the lurch like that, but then it hadn't just been me. Spot and Sunshine had had aggressive mares after them, too.

I should have seen it as a "divide and conquer" kind of attack they'd launched, making Goldie and 'Ro take on the leaders and keeping us occupied. Next time, and, oh yeah, there'd be a next time for sure, we'd come prepared to rumble.

Running away was our best strategy this time, so run we did.

My head pounded with my hoof beats as we covered ground at a steady pace set by Spot. Our little ray of Sunshine kept up without strain, in spite of his ugly wound. A real trooper that one and not all pastel beauty. Heero remained alongside Goldie, who I'd seen lagging behind, favoring his left leg, so I guess he'd been hurt worse than he looked.

I hadn't given Howard a moment's thought, until we hobbled into the arena, braids undone, muddied. I just knew the groom would go bonkers when he got a load of my tail—

The humans were all over us, shouting, poking.

"What a rush, eh?"

Heero nodded my way, nostrils flaring, eyes shining. "Yes. We weren't at all prepared for them."

"Wily critters," Spot muttered.

"We'll get even next time," I crowed, cocksure of myself.

I watched Howard pull a sprig of blue flowers out of a tangle of mane, then examine it out of Trowa's bite range. It did smell tasty.

"We need a proper strategy before leaving and the appropriate tactics going in." Sunshine said over his shoulder as a stable boy pointed out his wound to Howard.

"Who put that flower in Trowa's mane?" Goldie had a wild accusing gleam in his eye.

I wouldn't have answered him. Our little ray of Sunshine did, though. "I thought it was pretty there."

The gleam darkened and blinked out. Goldie's eyes shown like the bottom of my pail, flat and deadly. Well, not exactly deadly. More empty.

"Howard," he snapped and we all jumped, "can infer where we've been from that."

"Oh! I didn't think—"

"Shhh! Now he's calling the vet," Goldie said, and then nearly fell back on his haunches when a handler prodded at his dark meat, his thigh. "Ugh! I fell on _that,_ you stupid man!"

"I really didn't mean to give us away."

"Of course you didn't," Spot told him.

"And I'm so sorry! Really!"

Goldie hissed at us. "Silence! I'm trying to listen to what they say."

What they were saying, it turned out, was that they were going to put better locks on the gate. And they were upset because they'd lost track of where we'd gone. Big deal.

"No problemo."

"Howard said something about a 'chain and keyed padlock'," Goldie went on. "Or electric."

How could an electric fence do anything but light up?

"No fence can keep me corralled."

"Hush! Something else is wrong. And the vet's arrived."

We didn't get to hear about it until that evening after Sunshine had shots and treatment for his injury and Goldie had ointment and heating pads for his Charley horse. We'd all been curried and fussed with and fed and locked into our stalls as if it were night.

"I'm opening doors," I announced for all to hear.

"Just you hang fire, er, wait a bit." That was Spot's voice next door.

"Why?"

"They work on a schedule. Five minutes more and this man comes in and hangs up his keys and leaves. That's when the new guy comes on, but that one's almost always late so we might have half an hour before he comes and locks you up again, if Howard's in a mood."

"What kinda mood?"

"Upset enough to keep us penned up, which he might, considering."

"Considering what? What did we do?"

"I don't know. Sunshine feels he's upset, that's all."

Okay, so humans were Nervous Nellies. Why should we stay stalled up? I waited a bit, and sure enough the stable boy popped in, hung up his keys, and left the barn. "Cool."

"That's me." Spot nickered, but so did Sunshine, and I didn't think it was all that funny. Those two just had too much fun together.

I let everyone out, noting that Heero hadn't said a word for a long time.

Goldie walked a little stiff-legged, but claimed he was "just fine." "Apparently, the excitement had to do with that Relena woman," Goldie reported. "She'd been pestering Howard and had demanded Heero back again. I didn't hear word if there had been a 'court order' or not."

So, Heero must have recognized her name being bandied about and had gone all broody over her. That explained his silence.

"Howard doesn't want to break up our herd and he reminded Relena that her uncle stables mares and has no place for a stallion. But he's worried she'll find a way."

"Where's there's money, there's a way," Heero grumbled under his breath.

Okay, I guess the events of the day just added up and Heero's attitude took me over the top. Just like that, he was gonna abandon me. I lit into him, humans, and the world at large.

"NO!" I stomped my hooves and shook my mane, just plain furious at him. "No way are you gonna just chuck up the sponge, throw me overboard, and forfeit the game!"

"Heero, did you really swallow a sponge?"

For a brilliant spot of Sunshine, my buddy seemed a bit dim. Must have been the injection that had dumbed him down. "There's no sponge," I explained mercifully under control, though I could feel my pulse pounding along my neck. "I was just saying he gave up the fight."

"Heero wouldn't throw you over anything- a fence, bored… board or otherwise."

"How do you know that, Spot? But that's now what I said or meant anyway. Geez! What's with you guys? Can't you understand plain talk?"

"Not yours." Goldie slid that in between munching his hay.

Before I could argue back, Heero decided to enter the conversation. "You think this is all a game between us?" Heero blindsided me with that one, for sure.

"Game?" Oh, yeah, I'd said he'd "forfeited the game", which he'd taken literally like the rest of them. "No! And I'm not giving up hope either!"

"You need a Duo-dictionary." Goldie just couldn't mind his own business and stay outta my face and out of my arguments with Heero.

"What do you mean by that?" And, yeah, I was getting snappish by this time.

"Maybe you all should just hobble your lips and shut up."

"Hobble your own, Spot."

Oh, yeah, then Sunshine stepped forward to shed his brand of light on the subject, and stamped his shiny, little hoof. "Oh dear! Stop fighting, please. Duo's right."

"Damned straight I am."

"What we must do is come up with a plan."

"Devise a clever way to keep Heero here and outsmart the humans," Goldie said. "That shouldn't be hard."

Heero blew a puff of air warning the cat creeping up behind me to high-tail it outta there. "You think I haven't tried?"

"There's nothing we can't do if we put our heads together—"

"Time's up, Beautiful," Spot said. "Changing of the guard."

Goldie let out a loud snort and turned away in the direction of his stall. "Yes, make the humans think we are cooperating fully with the current incarceration."

Not that we'd done anything wrong. We'd just taken in the nice spring day, gone for stroll, and paid our neighbors a visit. I guess the wild horse land was off limits to us and was going to be MADE off limits with impenetrable gates. Well, I wanted a second chance at those horses. Show them some manners.

And I wanted to save Heero from Relena's clutches. A tall order in the thinking department, but I had all evening and night to do it. More than enough time.

(o)

And yet, when the sun rose over the ridge, I hadn't come up with a miracle plan to solve my problems. Nor had anyone else, by the way.

Heero moped in the corral. Let him sulk. He and I hadn't talked the night before, just kept to ourselves. He could just stew in his juices, stubborn horse. I had had Percy for company in my stall, which, in the light of morning, I think that had as much to do with his mood as anything else.

Sunshine and Goldie were penned in their stalls, or the "infirmary" as the gold horse called it. Funny guy with all the labels.

That left the circus show-off and me to check out the replacement gate latches.

Spot looked the new-fangled lock over and backed away. "Now that's complicated."

"Yeah, no kidding. Gate's all chained and there's a metal lock with no mechanism to finagle with. I could bite at the clip before, but this one's got nothing to move. Just a hole."

"And what's this wire for—? Hey!" Spot shook his head and looked up, stunned, and curled back his lips. "Watch it. That line above the wood. It's powerful hot."

"Oh? Wow, there _is s_uch a thing as an electric fence. We can't ask 'Ro to kick it in with that wire."

"Or jump the fence."

I hadn't thought of jumping the fence. I wasn't a jumper.

"Look here." His nose followed the wire down an upright and into a cable in the ground. "It goes down and it's gone."

"Heh, heh, cool. We could dig at it?" I was thinking "destroy the thing."

"Not safe. I barely touched it and got stung."

"You okay?"

"Better. Lip's numb, that's all."

"Right. Well, so the hot wire only goes near the gate here. That means if we can't go through it—"

"We go over. That will take some training, you know." Trowa stared at me, his voice serious. "You got to clear the fence. If your hoof catches, you can break a leg and then the jig's up, game's over."

"Yeah. Well, Heero likes the hurdles. I can do it with practice."

"Good. Want to shin out and tell the others?"

"Missing your patch of Sunshine already?" I meant it as a joke, but I think I traumatized the bejeebies out of him. White ringed his eyes. "Hey, I was just shootin' my mouth off."

But that didn't do the trick. He was still standing there staring at me.

"You think it's a secret, what you got going with your stall-buddy? It's okay. I miss Heero, even though he was a horse's ass today, and last night."

"Stall buddy, yeah." He shed his tension with a full-body shiver and we turned back to home. "You don't think it's wrong, um, to feel the way I do about him?"

"Not wrong for you, obviously, or him. Why would you care? It's just the five of us." And he had to have noticed how close Heero and I had been. _Had_ been. Ugh, had to fix that- mend _that_ fence. No good having a mad-on with 'Ro.

His low voice interrupted my roaming thoughts. "I've never known stallions to go for other stallions, that's all." Spot's head swung away; his tail flicked nervously, making me think about my own all tied up in a double braid and completely worthless for swatting flies. "Sometimes I think I'm an odd stick."

"If you are, we all are, heh, heh. Aw, don't worry. He's crazy about you," I told him. It wasn't a secret either. "Absolutely hoof over tail for you, and I never lie."

"It astounds me."

"Yeah, well, wish me luck making good with our leader."

"Good luck. He's had an eye on you all the time we've been talking, so he must want to make up. It shouldn't take much to get him to back down from whatever he thinks you did wrong."

"You think? I hope so. I didn't really do anything wrong. I've mostly forgotten whatever it was anyway. If I can just get him to stop the rough horsing around, I'd be happy. He's heavy."

"Horsing around? Oh, that. Um. He's not liable to stop that. You should ask him about it."

"I like games as much as the next stallion, don't get me wrong, but when I try and turn it around? Wowzer, does he get pissed."

"You tried to, ah, mount him? Don't do that."

"Believe me I won't again. Wild horses couldn't make me try that again—okay, maybe those wild horses we just met, but no others. I don't fancy another power struggle with 'Ro, such as it was. No, sirree."

"Speaking of Heero—" Spot lowered his voice to clue me in as to how close we'd gotten to him, and then he sorted peeled away to let me take the brunt of Heero's appraising glare.

"Hey, fearless leader. We got news."

We, _or I_, since what remained of Spot was his south end as he headed north, told Heero about the new lock and electric fence and our idea about jumping it. Heero was all gung-ho for jumping fences and was ready to visit the arena immediately for practice.

"I'm checking on Beautiful, first," Spot told us over his shoulder.

That left me with Heero and a giant gap in the conversation.

Which he was leaving up to me to fill.

"Um, sorry." It seemed as good a place to start as any.

"For what?"

Good question. "For getting my feelings hurt when you pretty much said there was nothing you could do to keep Relena from claiming you? I dunno."

"I'm sorry, too," he said. "One day I'm promising to do everything I can to remain here and the next I'm pessimistic. Do I have any power over my fate?"

"Ya gotta hope."

"I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave _you_. It's just… my experience with people is that they get what they want and we are their possessions to do with as they like. Short of running away with you, I don't know what we can do."

"Just don't give up, that's all I ask, 'Ro. We will think of something and if not, I'll run away with you."

That silly notion was met with a snort. But then his nose touched mine and his neck curved around mine. I licked his nearest ear, so soft and delicate, and he nickered, a comforting, happy sound.

"Life's not worth a shit without you." I believed it when I said it, too.

"I love _you_, too." From the way he said it, I think I'd amused him with my rougher version.

We snuggled in the corral, breathing in the fine, fresh air and soaking up a few rays. The wind stirred our loose hair, bringing us the scent of lovely growing things.

"You know what they're doing, right?"

No, I had no idea who or what. "Who?"

"Trowa and Quatre."

Oh, _that_. Sure, Spot liked Sunshine. Dappled Sunshine, heh, heh. "Snuggling?"

He sighed. "More than that. Trowa told me, confided in me, that Quatre lets him, ah, treat him like a mare sometimes."

Yeah, yeah… big deal. I nipped Heero's neck, a love-bite. "You push me around, too."

He sighed larger. "That's not the part I meant."

Oh. "You jump me, too, which, by the way, is pretty one-sided on your part and not as fun a game as you might think."

He drew a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly. What had I said this time?

"My point is that I just climb on. Trowa does more."

"Oh, he does, does he?" That sounded way to up close and personal for me, and I wasn't particularly fond of Heero sharing our intimate encounters with my bud Spot, if he had. "And you and him talked about us …it… this, ah, stuff ?"

He sighed another long, gigantic sigh. "No, they are just an example. You don't understand what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Mebbe." Actually, I didn't have a clue, but from the way Heero was talking around the subject all anxious-like, I got the feeling it was kinky-weird and I wasn't going to like it. "Depends on what you're _not_ talking about, doesn't it?"

And then he whispered an alarming (ALARMING!) suggestion in my ear. I scooted away, fleeing to the barn and arena, where Spot was pushing a pile of straw around, waiting for us. I did not want to think about what Heero'd said. Certain body parts just did not belong inside certain other ones, or fit!

Not Spot!

And certainly not Sunshine!

I quickly came to the conclusion that Heero had been just pulling my leg, and pushed the idea out of my mind by the time he joined us. I tried to laugh it off, but when he didn't meet my eyes, it got me to wondering again why he'd made up a thing like that to tell me.

Hurdles. Time to work on fence jumping, and get my mind off horses' asses.

Didn't work very well, considering.

(o)

That night I discovered the locks on our stalls had been changed during the day. The top half of the Dutch door swung open, but the lower half remained locked in place. I couldn't see why.

"What the heck is wrong with the door? I got it unlatched but it's still stuck."

"I heard drills today," Sunshine commented, his voice faraway so he must have been lying down and behind his door.

Drills? A sudden, unsolicited vision featuring Spot rearing up behind Sunshine thrust itself to the forefront of my brain. Ugh!

"No, no, no, no, no! Must trample thoughts."

"What was that, Duo?"

I shook the image out of my mind, telling him, "Nutin'," and leaned over the top door, stretching my neck to its fullest. There it was: a gleam of metal at the very bottom edge. "Aw, Howie, how could ya?"

"What's the matter?" Heero asked in a hollow-sounding voice, flat of emotion, behind his door.

Without me to open the latches, they were all stuck in place until a human came by. Good. He'd messed with my head, putting very vivid thoughts there that hadn't been thought of before, at least by me. I pushed them far, far away, again.

"Duo? Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah… Howard had someone put a slide latch on the outside of the stall—at the bottom! Out of my reach! Now, even when the top half is open, I can't reach the latch- no horse's neck is THAT long."

I could hear Spot muttering next door. "My neck's not that long, Beautiful, and I may be acrobatic, but my lips aren't that agile-" And then I heard a lot of snuggling sounds from the luxury stall.

Ugh. I couldn't help but hear Heero's words again, putting new pictures to the sounds I heard. What Heero'd told me sounded painful and awful, but my two friends sounded happy. Oh, Heero, why did you tell me about _that_? He wasn't doing _that_ to Sunshine. No! Perverted thoughts go!

I wanted OUT of my stall- NOW!

Spot and his ray of Sunshine had each other, and were happy. Happy thoughts. What did they care if they ever got out?

'Ro was walled off from me. I really missed him, despite his pervy suggestions. Maybe because of them-? NO! Absolutely not. I missed his warm hide next to mine and his composed conversation. Yes. I missed that and wanted out.

Goldie was probably perfectly content with the arrangement, as if he required suffering to complete his day. "Make my blanket extra scratchy under my saddle and cinch up my saddle uncomfortably tight, would you? Torment is good for the soul and hones a pissy edge to my personality."

Which reminded me of a song I'd heard coming from the talking box of my previous owner. I sung my version. "A horse is a horse of course, of course. And no man can talk to a horse, of course. Unless, of course, the horse, of course, is the Golden Dragon 'Fei!"

"Shut up!" came in a chorus of horse voices, so I couldn't pin it on just his estimation of my singing.

Bor-ing.

Why didn't me and 'Ro getta shared suite? How did I not qualify? No fancy chest of finery? Just 'cause I didn't come with a bag of gold, just 'cause I wasn't a scared-of-the-dark-weenie like Sunshine. The more I thought about it, the more pissed off I became.

"Stop kicking the door."

"Ro, it's not fair. I wanna be with you, not in here alone."

"Why don't you call for the stable boy to open your door?"

"Very funny." But then, as I thought about it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. I could annoy the help. Even if it didn't solve the problem, there was the consolation that I freaked out the staff. I let out one ear-splitting whinny and had an annoyed cat at my door. "Sorry, Percy. I just want out."

"Are you talking to that cat?"

"Yes, Heero, I am. Oh, hold on. Hey, Percy? Nice kitty." I jiggled the door and the new bottom latch clattered, and in the most coax-alicious tone ever I asked, "Can you slide that open?"

He rubbed up against the door and purred to wake the dead. He was free and happy. So unfair to gloat over his freedom at me.

"Remember who-all takes care of you."

"You'd better be joking," Heero grumbled.

Yeah, yeah… He was not helping my cause.

Percy showed me his rear end.

"Dude, you are crude and insulting," I told him, just as Heero's whispered proposition slammed my brain again.

Egad! What a dirty mind I had now!

I hung out my head as far as possible, and aimed my voice towards the far end. "Hey, Goldie, er, Wufei! Ask Percy to lend me a paw, okay? Um, if you're still speaking cat, that is."

His voice muffled by the distance and the wood walls and doors wasn't going to do the trick, though. I could tell that Percy wasn't hearing him or that he was pretending not to hear him and that Wufei wasn't really trying to be heard, uncooperative bastard. Like I guessed, he languishing away his time in his lonely stall, masochistically pleased to be miserable, especially knowing I had to put up with it, too.

The cat sat licking his white paw and flicking his tail over the new latch. The tease. I could tease, too. I turned around and lifted my tail over the lower door.

Swish. Swish. I knew Percy couldn't resist it.

"I'll let you play with it, if you let me out."

"No, you won't!"

I ignored Heero and continued to swish my sexy, braided rope of a tail. When I felt a claw catch hold, I yanked my tail back, dislodging the claw and irritating Percy.

"Me-ow!"

I stuck my head over. "Aren't you clever enough to figure out that lock?"

Percy understood me just fine, even if I didn't talk cat. He ran a paw over the metal, sliding the mechanism just a tad, then looked aside, in the direction of Heero's stall, from whence came more irritated demands.

"That's mine. You can't share your tail with that…that creature."

"It's actually attached to _my_ tailbone, last I saw, or _felt_," a comment that won me a snort from the other side of the stall.

"Nice attachment—last _I_ saw."

Good thing he couldn't see me trying to swallow my lips. What a thing to say! There was a crap-load of implication imbedded in those few words. Percy stood to go. Oh, no you don't! I eyed the cat and told him, "This is between you and me, amigo."

Percy blinked his eyes.

"You aren't indebting yourself to that animal, are you? Du-o!"

Oh, Heero, for the love of- "Just a deal for services rendered."

"I don't like that."

Sorry, 'Ro. "No biggie."

"It will smell of _cat_."

Percy grinned like only a self-righteous cat can do and pushed back the latch with a flick of his paw. The door opened. He moseyed past my nose and claimed my tail, batting it like crazy until it bopped him in the nose, at which point he buried his claws deep in the braid and hung on. I don't think he knew how to let go. He just hung on and I dragged him out of the stall.

"What's going on?"

"I'm opening your door," I told Heero.

"I'm talking about that caterwauling."

"Oh, you mean Percy. He'll be hanging around a bit more than usual."

And, no, Heero wasn't pleased with Percy snuggling in my tail that night, but he understood a deal was a deal and shut up about it, because I'd invited him to share my stall. To snuggle. Just snuggle.

Nothing more. I quickly wiped those other thoughts clean out of my head, for the most part, and Heero didn't bring up the topic. The deal with Percy held up for a few days, and all was well again, until Howard tried a new locking technique.

"There's a timer on it."

"Thanks, Spot, I know that. What does it mean, is my point?"

"It has a 'sniffer'."

"A what?" Heero's addition to the conversation had me stymied.

"That's what it says on the box. It's too far away for me to turn it over and learn more."

Percy, bless his wretched little soul, appeared like an unwanted fly. He even buzzed, or hummed, or purred.

"Hey, little buddy! Can you give this box to the nice, big horsey next door? Yeah, that one next to the garbage—No, don't shred it! I'll, uh, what would he like, Heero?"

"Hn."

"C'mon! Whatta cats like besides my hair?"

"Why doesn't Quatre negotiate with it? It's his nuisance pet."

"Because he's busy doing whatever it is he and Spot do in there. I'm the one that wants out. Just gimme one thing? Please?"

"Mice."

"Cool. Percy, I'll bring you a mouse from the pasture—"

"Alive, for the most part," Heero thoughtfully added.

"Not dead, quite. How's that sound? Just give the pretty, big, brown horsey the box."

And, no, Heero didn't like being called that and, no, Percy somehow finagled promises for _two_ not-quite-dead mice outta me, but finally he carried the empty cardboard lock box to Heero and pushed it into his stall through the narrow space under the door.

"What'sit say?"

"Time-locked deadbolt. If smoke is detected, they open automatically."

"Time…locked? What do you think that means?"

"It means you aren't getting us out."

"He-ero!"

Spot blew air past his lips to get my attention.

"You gotta idea?" I asked him.

"It means there's a clock inside, like I said I saw, and it's set to unlock at a certain time—and no sooner- so pull in your horns and quit looking for trouble."

"Essentially what _I_ said."

"Thank you, Heero."

Now I got to thinking about how I could get past that kind of security. I couldn't very well crush it with a hoof. It was outside the stall. There were no openings to ram a stick into and fiddle around. I thought and I thought but I had no idea what to do. I couldn't believe I'd been bested by a little clock in a lock.

Tick, tick, tick…

Not me.

So, once again I resorted to the lowest sort of manipulation. I drew a deep breath and whinnied my brains out. I'd exact revenge if nothing else. I did it again and again and again. Every few minutes. I had nothing else to do and plenty of energy, lung power, and determination—and voice, too.

"Gimme outta here!" I hollered at the top of my lungs.

I got my point across, because sometime later (Spot told me I kept it up for one and one half hours) Howard came storming in, red-faced and shouting at me. Apparently (Goldie told me I'd "annoyed" him) he wanted me to stop.

Whatever. It worked for me, because he let us out to roam the barn and arena all night, had we wanted to, but the exterior doors were left closed, locked with the same mechanism.

The problem was I didn't really want to have to go to that much trouble every night to get us out.

"He's doing it for our safety."

"How so, Goldie? We were free before and nothin' bad happened to us?"

"His concern was not for our escaping so much as for robbers breaking in and stealing us, or, most probably, Relena stealing Heero."

Well, when he put it that way I could understand. "The security's for Heero then?"

Sunshine nodded vigorously. "Howard felt more worried than angry to me, Duo."

"Well, shit."

"I don't want the rest of you to pay for what amounts to my fault."

The whole gang joined me in correcting him. "It's not your fault!"

"Mee-ow!"

"Percy has a thought," Goldie interpreted for us. "It will cost us all."

Oh. Already, I was sharing my tail and had promised two mice (Percy insisted that was two per day that we went outside, Goldie clarified when he had a chance) – What more was I getting in for?

"I say it depends on whether this 'thought' of his amounts to a solution."

That's a good one, 'Ro.

Percy and Goldie scratched out a payment plan, mostly in secret but which amounted to rides on Spot's back, one of Sunshine's silk scarves to line his bed, mice from Heero, my tail and something unsaid, but possibly evil, from Goldie. We all agreed, if it worked.

He leaped from the ground to the edge of my open half door and balanced himself above the lock. There he sat poised.

And then he peed on the device, which ticked once, twice, then ceased its incessant marking of time. A puff of smoke and there it was short-circuited, the latch opened on default.

Cool.

Actually, we took care of the other locks ourselves in varying positions and buckets of pee.

After that, the individual stall locks were removed and we were allotted our freedom. To a point. At night we were restricted indoors. During the day, we could venture out, but the gates leading out of our facility were impenetrable. We could go into our corral to our pasture, but not the wild lands, not yet.

We had our hurdle training to perfect first. And our plans to best the Mustangs. And somehow protect Heero. And just when that seemed like enough in our hay bins, our universe tilted on its axis again.

Horse Notes:

Wild horse community.

All wild horses live off the land, grazing, never a predator and always the prey. In order to escape predators, horses have evolved extreme sensitivity and speed. Also for safety reasons, they are social herd animals that follow a leader and conform to a dominance hierarchy in harems dominated by the strongest stallions. A dominant stallion owns the herd and sires all the herd's offspring. His role is to keep intruders and predators away from his mares. When you see a group of wild horses moving across the landscape, normally the stallion will be running behind the herd, keeping the slower horses moving and protecting the group from attack.

Usually the band has a dominant mare responsible for leading the family group in their grazing. She will lead the family to the water hole, to the mineral lick where they dig for dietary supplements, and guide them to sheltered places out of the wind when winter storms howl.


	14. Chapter 14

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for all the edits and to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking.

**Chapter Fourteen— Enter the Dragon's Test**

**(o) Quatre's POV**

"Wait up!" Honestly, I could move faster, but I wanted to talk to Duo privately while the others ran ahead.

"You're fast; you can damn well catch up with me."

"I'm still recovering!" Pity sometimes worked.

"Yeah, yeah, recouping- but from _what_?"

That was oblique. He knew I'd been bitten by that awful Mustang mare. I wished he would simply come right out and say what was on his mind. He had been behaving foolishly for days, avoiding me, and I didn't know why. I could just kick the living daylights out of him at times, but I controlled my temper. If I kept my wits about me, I could get to the heart of the matter without resorting to violence.

And I really wanted to get to enjoy the beautiful spring day outside!

Howard had kept Wufei and me indoors all week while our injuries healed. To circumvent our resident escape artist from letting us all out, the human had posted a stable guard day and night. And he was deaf! Duo's wails hadn't bothered him a bit.

Actually, I think Duo understood why we shouldn't overdo, because he didn't actually pull any stunts except the loud noise, and that was only the first night. Knowing Trowa wouldn't leave me alone in our stall meant he and Heero waited indoors too. It wasn't long before the stable hands separated us into the "outsider" and the "insider" horses and they'd leave us. Wufei and I knew it would only be temporary. We were allowed our stall windows open to smell the delicious spring air filled with the scent of fresh new meadow grass, flowers, and moist soil.

As lovely as the indoor arena was and as appreciative of the moderate exercise it permitted us, I simply couldn't wait to taste the out-of-doors. It was so wet and exciting. Imagine me looking forward to wet!

So, when the day came to breathe the fresh air and run, I couldn't wait. What I hadn't expected was Duo's standoffishness. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei were already grazing on the new grass of the close-in pasture. This was my chance to speak to him alone.

I risked pulling the stitches, but I surely wasn't going to let him get away with talk like that, implying I hadn't been injured! I dashed around the corral, weaving to avoid the hurdles, which had been set up since I'd last been there. I felt that it might be too soon to test my shoulder with those. Duo took them one after the other. He must have been practicing diligently to have become that good so fast.

I could run like the wind over the sand, almost as fast as Heero, but the stitches pinched, warning me to slow down. I rounded the next turn and cut him off. Once his path was blocked he stopped.

"I was doing pretty good," he huffed.

"Your jumping is splendid." That made him look up. This was my chance. "I want to know what's wrong, Duo? You've been acting strangely and I can feel—" I stopped. I could tell I was losing him, and started anew. "What did I do to make you feel … to make you resent me? Ever since we got back from the wild horses—"

"Look, it was just something 'Ro said, that's all. Something, ah, Spot told him 'bout you an' him, that's all. All. All of it."

Oh, that's all, is it, Mr. Holding-it-all-back? I was certain to get to the bottom of the trouble if I came at him tangentially. "We're in love! It's a wonderful feeling, Duo. My heart flutters like pink ribbons against a blue sky. And when I'm near him I just melt and my legs go all gooey like honey."

"Is that good? I mean, it is to eat, for sure; ugh, honey, that is."

Either he wasn't following all my similes, or he thought I was just a mess around my true love. A sticky mess at that.

"Love is good and at times messy." The moment I said that his eyes grew huge and I felt his emotions wash over me on a tide of angst.

If I were to guess, I'd say his problems circled around sex, like his conversation.

As I thought about how he'd acted around the wild mares, and what Trowa had shared of his few comments about Heero's "games", I'd come to the conclusion that Duo appeared very naïve about sex.

I didn't know where he'd learned his facts of life, or if he even had learned them, but I had them ground into me by the harem. Nothing like having all the bloody details starting with conception and continuing with a redundant, even gratuitous thoroughness through the birthing process- something I was relieved never to have to go through- drilled into my brain.

Later, after failing to do my stallion duty, I learned how the unmated stallions took the geldings. They never got near me. I could fight and did fight them off. I stood my ground, for awhile, but by that time they weren't interested in mounting, only mind games. I'd put that past me now.

I was fortunate. I had Trowa, the sweetest, gentlest stallion I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

I felt blessed with Trowa in my life and that he was also well informed. He'd seen it all, he'd told me. What he'd actually experienced, he kept to himself. I wouldn't prod him to tell me everything. Not all our memories were nice or meant to be shared. As it turned out, we had only the mechanics of sex to work out between us. That had taken us about two minutes.

"Is that your problem? Sex with Heero? He's interested? Of course he is! Who wouldn't be in a handsome stallion like you with that bewitching tail— Are you gagging on something?"

He was choking on his own spit. I knew that. Talk about tongue-tied!

"You can talk to me. I won't tell anyone, unless you want me to. Please?"

"You are doing… that? With Spot?" he spit out.

"By 'that' you mean—"

"Don't say it! Yes, _that_."

"All right, I'll be circumspect. I really just want to help you."

I let him pant for a minute.

"You've found someone who cares deeply for you, Duo. I want you as happy as I am."

"It's gotta hurt."

"You'd think so, but it is actually pleasant. The key is all in the liberal use of spit and tongue- Oh, don't be such a baby."

He was cringing.

"I'm not."

"You are. Now buck up and I'll explain."

He let me offer a few suggestions and insights into a couple of details he'd neglected to consider.

"Okay, I got it, I think. Not so bad, now that I'm getting used to the idea. I thought at first he was just kidding me, ya know?"

"Yes!" I giggled trying to imagine the serious-faced Heero trying to seduce his babe-in-the-woods sweetheart with unvarnished, even lewd-sounding, suggestions. Not that I didn't believe in facing the honest facts, but a little embroidering of the facts made them no less accurate, just prettier.

"I feel awfully dumb now."

"You shouldn't. You know a great deal more than you did when you woke up this morning, which makes you less dumb. Remember, and I hope it makes you feel better, each and every one of us has some more experienced horse explain sex to them. Consider yourself informed, that's all."

"Ah, thanks, Sunshine." He gazed out to the pasture, longing to be with Heero, I suspected. "So, you, ah, done here, 'cause I kinda wanna get a belly-full of that new green stuff, okay with you?"

_Food? _Was that really on his mind all the time? "You want to eat?"

"Yeah, c'mon. I'll even go slow for the gimpy horse."

Now that sounded like my old friend again back to normal. "Who are you calling a 'gimp', pokey?"

And the race was on. Of course I let him win just this one time and it did wonders for his ego. Quatre Beautiful Sunshine (I didn't require the 'Raberba' Winner' anymore) did it again!

In the process of galloping to meet the others, I really worked up an appetite, one that seemed to grow disproportionately to the size of my belly. I couldn't get enough of the loveliest, sweetest grass I'd ever tasted.

"Slow down, Beautiful. It's not going anyplace."

Oh, Trowa! I adored his gentle ways and nickered sentiments. I nuzzled and pressed close, side-by-side. And then the sun shone warm. We all stood and let it soak down to our skin for the longest time.

Wufei sighed and slumped to his knees.

"Are you all right?" I was worried about him. You couldn't see his deep bruising and he never talked about it.

"Yes. Just feel like a nap."

"Good idea." Duo, of all characters, knelt nearby. He even rolled to one side. "Nothing like the smell of freshly crushed grass."

Heero stood watch over Duo, over all of us, but especially Duo. And Wufei. That was his duty as lead stallion.

But nothing disturbed our peace. Oh, a few dark clouds passing over, dropping some rain, but then the wind swept them away. More sun. Lovely, sun. Lazy day.

I must have dozed off too. The sun had moved in the sky when I blinked my eyes. The light was dazzling.

"You're ankle deep in mud."

"I am?" It had been Trowa's voice that had awakened me. I picked up one hoof making a sucking sound. "Look at that! Did it rain that much?"

"Guess so." He flicked a hoof and a hunk of mud flew at me. "Namby-pamby."

"Did you just insult me?" I returned the favor, spraying his legs with flecks of brown. "Woopsie!"

"That was no accident," he said, working one hoof into the mud, sliding it around, softening up a big glob.

"It wasn't?"

He sent another spurt my way, dappling my side with ugly spots.

"That certainly wasn't!" I cried out. "This is war!" I kicked a blob, splattering both him and Heero.

"What the hell?" Duo spun about to see why his sweetie pie had mud dripping from his tail and got a shot in his face from Trowa. "Oh, this is something I'm real good at."

Duo wasn't kidding. He could kick mud, dirt, rocks, and plants like crazy. Wufei and Heero had no choice but to defend themselves from my glorious fury! I gave as good as I received. No one was safe from a well-placed mud splat.

"Hey, you lost a bootie."

Trowa was right. When had I lost that? I hadn't even noticed how my carefully manicured hooves had gone _au naturel_ and become caked in gloop.

"What about that? So I have! Oh, there it is." Stuck in a hole. When Trowa reached to lift it out with his lips, I stopped him. "Leave it be. I don't need them anymore."

"Now you got me stumped. You don't miss the sand?"

"I do, but this is my home now, and nature. It's all good!"

"You've come a long way fast, Beautiful."

My love noticed how hard I was trying! "Yes, I have!"

"Won't Howie and the Doc's have a fit when they get a load of us," Duo was saying.

I looked us over and he was right. What a sight we were!

Wufei snorted and shook out his mane, slinging muddy bits in the air. "We've caught Trowa's circus spots. Watch out! They're contagious!"

Not only was he right, he had made a joke about it, and we all whinnied in amusement. Life really was good.

"Pinto'd like the wild horses," Heero said.

And then the perfect scheme hit me between the eyes, along with a clot of muck someone had shook off: hide Heero with the wild horses to avoid Relena's clutches! My idea exploded out of my mouth without setting the proper stage, a mistake.

"Are you crazy?" Heero snapped at me. "They would just as soon feed me to the cougars than—"

Set the stage! Props! I needed props! "We'd have to give them something in trade, buy their friendship if that's what it takes. There must be something they want that we have."

"Not to shit on your mash, Sunshine, but even if we did convince the wild horses to take in 'Ro, he still looks like 'Ro. Anyone would spot him if they went looking and you know, if he showed up missing one day, the first place Howie'd look would be the far pastures."

I needed costumes, too!

"True, they know we've gone that far," Wufei said with a sharp look at Trowa.

Trowa hadn't noticed, I don't think, because he was staring off at the horizon with an intense, yet thoughtful, expression.

I waited to hear his point of view. A few stage directions, possibly? I could have used a supportive word from him. I was not ready to relinquish my good idea. The show must go on! "They might know obscure canyons or caves or—"

Right on cue, Trowa interrupted. "We could disguise him with spots."

"How? You mean like this?" Heero asked. "Mud washes off with rain."

"Clowns use paint that doesn't come off with water."

"Oh, that's good!" I knew he'd find a way to make my plans come true.

"Yeah, but where do we get the paint?" Duo asked.

Oh, no-

This time it was Heero who piped up. "The humans mark the arena lines with a white paint. I know where it is stored. If we could get to that, I could check the label for—"

"It's water soluble," Wufei said, deleting the suggestion instantly, dashing out the fires of excitement with a bucket of figurative water. "**But** the fence paint is not, or it would run off in the rain."

Yay!

Trowa nodded his head. Double yay! "And that's stored in the outbuilding near the barn. I've watched them put it away."

Oh, once again there was hope!

"Let's go back and check out the locks," Duo suggested.

"We'll have to time our moves against those of the human workers and not get caught."

"Well, duh, 'Fei!"

Trowa nudged first Duo then Wufei. "I'll do that."

"Then we're on?"

"Yeah, Sunshine, the show's all yours now."

"Break a leg and all that!" I cried out.

But, alas, they'd never heard that human show-term for good luck. For horses that was more of a death knell. I had to explain what I'd meant, but, really, it was best just to drop it and move on.

How I wished we could have begun our implementation right then, but there is no accounting for human intervention in the best of plans.

**(o) Trowa's POV**

I spotted the gleaming, white stallion from some distance, but it was Duo who was first to shout out. "Whoa, doggies! Who's the hot, chic stallion with the cavalry tags?"

Oh, no. More competition for our fearless leader to face and put down, although, this one looked far more formidable than I had been or Wufei. And Duo's enthusiasm was not helping; in fact, it had the unintended, I think, effect of fueling Heero's jealous fires.

And as Heero pushed past us all to take up the defense up front, I pulled Beautiful back by the tail to walk with me.

"Shh… just listen to them," I whispered, and amazingly, he followed my instructions. He might appear sweet and gentle as a rose bud, but beneath the ribbons and fluff were stubborn thorns.

Heero assessed and said, "He looks like a military mount from a wealthy family."

Not too bad a re-statement of what Duo'd said, I thought. Heero was getting better translating Duo-slang, minus the passion, but then maybe he'd been boning up on his vocabulary reading dictionaries.

I felt the tension ratchet up a mite, but if Duo did, he ignored it.

"You think? Getta loada the muscles in those shoulders and legs."

"I was thinking of the proud carriage, but, yes, his is a powerful body."

Couldn't miss the impressive body. Nope. No one could, even Wufei was obviously awed, assuming I was properly interpreting his slobbering and gawking.

When I heard a sigh escape my Beautiful's lips, a chill shot up my spine and a stab of anxiety topped my heart from beating. Was he enamored of this guy, too? What would I do?

A quick check to my left, and there was my love, studying the new horse but not with wide-eyed adoration. What a relief! So was his reassuring little nuzzle to my left ear. Back to watching the action, then.

Poor, Heero up against this new threat to his herd. I kinda felt sorry for him. I had just the love of my Beautiful to worry about, and he had all of us plus a really oblivious Duo.

As I scrutinized the new stallion, though, I wasn't sure he _would_ contest Heero for command. There was something in the droop of his head that made me feel the fight had left him in general. A bit of a deadbeat.

"He may look commanding," Beautiful said, pitching his voice so Heero could hear him, "but he's a mess emotionally, which means he's probably a psychological muddle, too."

Heero answered with a tart snort. I don't think Heero was much concerned for this new stallion's sensitivities at the moment. And for good reason, thanks to his main squeeze.

"He's huge!"

Yep, hung like the proverbial horse. You tell him, Duo, even though I know you meant his overall size. Don't matter none.

Was that a growl I heard out of Heero? Heh, heh… Time for Beautiful to intercede, was my guess. And I was right.

"Not actually. Watch him, Duo."

Howard had climbed on the horse and was riding him around the corral. I wished Wufei would close his mouth before he choked on a fly and embarrassed us all. Not really. I didn't care, but he was funny to watch. I hoped I hadn't been as painfully slack-jawed stupid-looking when I'd first fallen for Beautiful, but guessed I had been. Maybe worse, with all my dancing and prancing and, ugh, pathetic showing off. Push that out of my head…

"Notice how his elastic, powerful movements make him appear much larger than he really is."

I don't know. The stallion looked pretty amazing to me: even-paced, white as snow, and endless tail flying behind him.

"One hunk of—"

Don't say it, Duo.

"—white-hot –"

Nooooo!

"White is hard to keep clean."

Pretty weak remark, Heero.

"Yeah, I betcher right. He'd always have to be spiffing up, huh?"

Listening to Duo and Heero's give and take amused me to no end. Heero was so jealous and protective and Duo was so unaware of him doing it. That little black horse was between hay and grass, neither stallion nor colt.

Wufei on the other hand was giving me more comic relief than usual, not that he was a barrel of laughs at any time. For the longest time he'd been sullen, arrogant, insulting, an all around real drag to be around. He'd improved significantly, showing more sides to his personality, but I'd never seen Wufei appear or express anything resembling "in awe" until now.

"A Lipizzan—" he said, the human breed classification rolling off his tongue in a lisp.

No kidding… wait, was this LOVE at first sight? He moved like a horse in a dream state; his eyes on his idol. It's not like the breed wasn't the most sought after for the circus. Never seen one myself, but I recognized what this new stallion was. Real quality. Howard sure had an eye for that.

And apparently, so did Wufei. Who figured him to have a taste for eye candy? Oh, careful, Wufei. Look at that tail, a glorious, foaming cascade of silver-white, just waiting to be nibbled. It's getting closer. Closer. He's stopping right in front of us.

We'd all gathered by the gate, where Howard and all the doctors stood admiring the new comer, who at that moment turned around, taking his chew-perfect tail out of range, to face us.

And who stepped up to begin the formal introductions? Right. "Hello! I'm Quatre Beautiful Sunshine from the Winner Warrior Stables."

Wait, wait! The white horse was looking our way. Whoa, the great one was about to acknowledge us peons.

"Hello, Quatre Beautiful Sunshine Winner. Call me Zechs."

"Zechs. His name is Zechs." Wufei repeated this unnecessarily about twelve times.

I'd have bet I wasn't the only one that noticed how similar "Zechs" and "sex" sounded, especially with Wufei's drool.

"What are you doing here?" Something I wanted to know too, but Heero colored the question to sound more like "how soon are you leaving?"

I could smell the male hormones blanketing the area. Duo must have too; it made him restless, more than usual, though I didn't think he understood why. From what I'd ascertained on my own, talking to him, and from what Beautiful had told me, Duo was "fresh as newly fallen snow," in the sex department. I wished Heero the best of luck.

"Your stable manager, Howard, purchased me. Or enacted a trade. It hasn't any bearing on my situation. It can't _possibly _be relevant, except that I'm given to understand this is my new home."

He did seem to ramble on, this new horse. And after that he gave us the once-over displaying a tad more interest in us as time passed. Time broken by Wufei's lip-licking.

"Is this really an all-stallion herd?"

"Yes, mine." Heero had his hackles up now, pawing and snorting.

And it wasn't all bluff, either. I didn't think a fight over us would go over well with Howard. Beautiful wouldn't either, knowing his penchant for peaceful confrontations, but, surprisingly, Wufei appeared to want to avoid a clash, too. For all his talk of the glory of war and battle, it looked to me as if he really wanted attention now.

He moved so his coat caught the sunlight just right and he shone like gold. Very eye-catching. He sure captured Zechs' attention. He cleared his throat then said, "You are clearly military trained, like Quatre and I—"

I didn't think Beautiful had actually got as far as that with his skills, and it was curious of Wufei to include him into the warrior coterie, like backup or something. So, now that he had Zechs' eye, I wondered what the hell he was trying to do with it—which was probably what Wufei was wondering at the moment, from the vacant look on his face. Vacant or besotted, I couldn't decide which. Wufei, the know it all, hadn't a clue what to do next. Or maybe he did but was inept?

It would be fun to watch his progress with his lordship.

My Beautiful cut Wufei off at the stockings, probably because he sounded stuffy and affected and was about to say something insanely stupid.

"Oh, yes! We'd love to hear some of your war stories. I imagine you have seen many dreadful and glorious battles and yours is an illustrious lineage."

When had my Beautiful ever wanted to hear war stories? He must have been pretty desperate to find some way to sidetrack the attention off Wufei. Didn't work. If I had to guess, I'd say Zechs was dazzled by Wufei's brilliance; his intense coat-color, that is, and not his wit.

"Oh, I suppose I'm something _now_, but then you wouldn't have been impressed by me when I was a colt. I was the veritable Homely Harry."

Whoever _he_ was. The whole thing seemed a bit odd, his saying that to total strangers, a gorgeous stallion who'd just moved in to the group. I wondered if it was just his way, trying to put us ease and show he's not a threat. Well, he was the absolutely _stunning_ Sexy Zechy now, and self-deprecating to boot.

"I can't believe that." Heero was no horse's fool.

"It's your choice, but it makes it no less true. At one year of age, I looked shockingly small compared to a Thoroughbred like you," he lowered his head fractionally in Heero's direction, "of the same age. I was born nearly black, and by the time I was eight months of age I began to go through the most awkward stage from which I did not emerge until I was about three years old. During this period of awkwardness I doubt I could have been barely recognized as a member of my most esteemed breed. I looked more like a molting mule."

Uh, huh. Sure.

"Of course, all the other colts, not that there had been many others, were plain also."

Uh, huh.

"In the Kingdom of Sanc all the young Lipizzans were at that time turned out in the distant pastureland where no tourists could view us until we were brought back at the age of three. That is when the elegance a Lipizzan possessed at birth returns and is increasingly manifested, even through old age, until the day he dies—if you believe that sort of human rubbish."

"You're certainly not black now." Can't fool Duo.

"No, Mr. Morgan, I am not. We Lipizzans are slow to mature. We are born dark and our fur slowly turns white by the time we are five to eight years of age. We are not fully grown in size until we are seven and do not reach full maturity until almost ten years of age, as I am, nearly."

"So you were black and now you're white?" Duo didn't bother to hide the disbelief in his voice.

"Technically, I'm actually grey. Here, look at the scar."

"A _battle_ scar?" The eagerness in Wufei's voice was endearing, actually. I thought he might lick it, but his lordship moved the leg out of his reach to show it off.

"Yes, from a saber point at the battle of the fifth colony. The dark skin hidden under a white coat is revealed when I'm wet or where there's a large scar."

"Wet—" Wufei whispered. He caught himself drooling; thank goodness I didn't have to tell him.

Oh, he had it _so_ bad!

"My skin is black too." Quatre started to tell him all about his ancestry. "The Arabian breed—"

"Naturally," the splendid stallion interrupted, "You are from the Winner Warrior stables of Arabians." Good memory, that guy, and he knew it from the glimmer in his eye when he'd said it.

"Yes! How can you tell?"

You told him in your introduction- oh, my. Beautiful was more than a little scatter-brained over this guy. And as much as I wanted to smack his pretty, flaxen rump, what I ended up saying was, "He read the label on your blanket," joking.

Zechs caught that. "_Read?_ Don't be ridiculous."

I wasn't in any way 'ridiculous.' Except the spots, and those I could do nothing about.

"**I** read."

Mark up one for you, Heero, except that Zechs chose to ignore your comment.

"His breeding is obvious if you know what to look for, and I've seen a large number of fine horses, especially in battle."

Uh, huh. Yeah, I bet. I was not impressed, but someone else was.

"You've se-en real fighting?" Wufei spit out in a strangled-sounding voice.

Why don't you stick your ass in his face, Wufei? Eh, forget it. Poor guy's totally unaware of the spectacle his making of himself, but then join the club. Duo's always got a hoof in his mouth, and I must do the dumbest things still around Beautiful.

I watched as Zechs drew himself up, held his head high. "Far, far too much. We Lipizzan's may be pampered as royally, but when we are truly afraid or our sense of justice is violated by brutality, we stand our ground, look the opponent in the eye, and prepare for battle."

Well, fuck. The brooding, tormented aristocrat had me believing he'd come from the Horse Gods. And if the day hadn't gone weird enough, I overheard Duo telling Heero, "He's a vampire."

Horse Notes:

The Lipizzan breed dates back to the 16th century, when a powerful but agile horse was desired for both military uses and for use in the fashionable and rapidly-growing riding schools for the nobility of central Europe. The horses were nearly wiped out during World War II, but survived due to the efforts of many brave men, including General George Patten. Today, the breed is relatively rare, with only about 3,000 horses registered worldwide. The stallions are extremely docile and easily handled. They are, in fact, easier to manage than the mares. Lipizzans display elegance and nobility as soon as they are born. Most Lipizzaners are gray, and, like all gray horses, they have black skin, dark eyes, and as adult horses, a white hair coat.


	15. Chapter 15

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: I'm deeply grateful from the support of my readers, to Waterlily's careful editing and witty comments, and to Snowdragon's informative horse-facts.

**Chapter Fifteen— Nobility Walks Among Us**

**(o) Duo's POV**

Looks like Howie got his dream horse, and it's so obviously a vampire it just ain't funny. Yep, Zechs really takes the biscuit, the bloody biscuit.

I'm sure Howie _knew_ what he was getting; he didn't have the vet come check him out. _We_ all got checked out, but not Zechs. The Count. The vet would _know_ that what he had there was re-animated horse meat, so no health check. Avoiding eye-opening, public announcements like "this horse is of the undead" meant I was the only one who could warn the others.

Not only was I the most practical horse in the herd, the one Heero'd come to lean on, so to speak, but I was the only other horse around that recognized the signs. Yes, indeedy I could. Convincing our buddies would be simple, once Heero believed me.

"Duo, that's stupid."

"Nuh uh!" I said. "He told us _himself_."

"When was that?"

"All that rubbish about being born black and changing to white. That was his transformation from ordinary horse to vampire horse."

"All his breed goes through that change."

"How do you _know_ that? _He_ told us that. _See_?"

"Not really."

"Well, you certainly gotta look at those incisors of his, right? Like fangs!"

"Horses don't have fangs."

"Which is my point exactly."

"Zechs hasn't any fangs."

"He does. You just didn't see them."

"You are right about that. I saw nothing out of the ordinary."

"Then it's a good thing you got me to watch out for stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?"

"Like vampires and werewolves and zombies. I'm an expert at spotting them. They called me the God of Death."

He just stared at me and said nothing. I guessed I'd convinced him. And it hadn't been that hard so I figured it would be light work getting the others in front of the wagon with us.

"Duo—" He sighed as if my name weighed heavily on him and I thought he was about to thank me for bringing the matter to his attention with all the promptness it was due, but then we were interrupted. "- here comes Howard and the doctors. Looks as if we're all going out riding today."

Sure thing. I was happy that 'Ro and I had had our little discussion, 'cause with that past us I could enjoy the ride. I tried to watch Zechs. From what I could see he was well-behaved, but Heero kept crowding the view.

Goldie filled me in on what I was missing, which wasn't much. "Howard giving Trowa's rider some advice: 'Relax your back, don't pinch with your knees, go with the motion, rock your pelvis'- He's just said Zechs was a joy to ride with his soft, broad back and lively gait due to his powerful hindquarters."

Seemed to me our little gold dragon was a tad more interested in those hindquarters than was his usual stuffy self. It was just about then that 'Ro shoved _his_ ass in my path. 'Course with him I was trying real hard not to think about what Sunshine and I'd just talked about. Somehow I didn't think he'd be letting _me_ stick anything where the sun don't shine, and I knew I wasn't about to let him do that to me. So, why the fascination, I asked myself?

"Oh, here's what your rider had to say about you," Goldie said. Why was he so eager to share today? "His natural rhythm is short and bouncy, but if you want a good ride, you have to teach him about long and deep."

Ugh.

To keep my mind off sex, I pondered what else I knew about vampires: they drank the blood of their victims, which in turn made new vampires—a rather odd sorta sex act— all evil incarnate. On top of that, they lived forever unless they got stabbed through the heart with a sword, although I wasn't sure about the sword part, something metal, anyway.

It occurred to me I should warn everyone about the creature masquerading as one of us. As I spread the word about Zechs, I would also mention how I'd appreciate all the help they could give me keeping him under surveillance. During the day, it would take most of the vampire's strength to keep up his façade and not stress out in the sunlight. It was under the cover of darkness that he'd become his most dangerous. We could take turns observing him at night, since I doubted very much a mere stall door could keep a vampire horse at bay.

Funny how differently the others reacted to my news.

"What does Heero think?" Spot asked, calm and cool as if I'd told him dandelions were yellow.

"He's with me on this." I sure _thought_ he was.

"He is?"

"I just _said_ so. Watch your back, er, neck, and everyone else's, 'specially at night."

"Okay."

That was easy. I'd been about right about getting 'Ro on board first.

Our little patch of Sunshine, always a bit of an odd duck probably 'cause he came from the weird Middle Eastern desert, became shiny-eyed-excited once he understood what a vampire was.

"A Ghul! Oh, I guess you'd say ghoul in Sanc. What you are talking about sounds like what was called a ghul where I grew up, only ghouls feed on other corpses and not just on blood. Looking at things in terms of evolution of the deceased, I guess then, vampires are much more refined in their tastes."

"Um, right. Just keep an eye out, okay?" I should have realized he'd be informed. Poor Sunshine had had nightmares from the stories he'd been told.

"Absolutely!"

Goldie wouldn't hear me out, big surprise there, and accused me of being envious of Zechs' magnificence, _and_ refused to be a part of my "witch hunt."

Envious? Me? Not on your life!

"The veterinarian health assessment was unnecessary because Howard knew and trusted the other stable's management, not because he's trying to hide anything. Honestly, Duo, focus on Heero before he has a coronary."

I had planned to have a heart-to-heart with Heero that night, actually, but I was pretty darn sure Goldie was meaning something else. He usually did. "What do you mean by that? You don't think he's taking Zechs that seriously as a threat to his leadership?"

"It's my impression that he does, but Heero can deal with that perfectly well. It's your single-minded interest in Zechs that has him troubled."

"That's nuts." I was sure he knew I only had eyes for him and not the vampire.

"Most likely, but you distract him."

I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when the doctors got it into their heads to stop our consorting and head out on the path through the hills. Back to work, but on a fine spring day it was, how did Sunshine put it? "A pleasure to cavort over the grassland", and that it was.

That evening I snuggled up with Heero in his stall with the excuse that it wouldn't be safe for me to fall asleep with a vampire roaming at large.

"Duo, stay if you want, but no more vampire stuff."

"Huh? You believe me, right?"

"I think you're awe-struck over that new stallion and dreaming up a whole batch of excuses to talk about him."

"That is so not true!" How blind could a horse be? "I mean, sure he's built and easy on the eyes," wrong direction to take if the hardened, glazed-over look in Heero's eyes was any indication, "but what a bore. He's nothing like you, and you are what makes me—" Oh, boy. How could I finish that sentence without sounding like a needy idiot?

"Makes you what?"

"Um—" was the best I could do with him rubbing a leg against mine and blowing the hair out of my eyes.

I felt hot then cold. I think my hair was standing on end and I forgot everything I was about to say. My heart pounded like I was running a race, uphill.

His lips tugged at my ears, sending my skin to shivering and all I wanted was more.

"More—"

His strong neck curled over my back and his nose massaged my shoulders. "Tell me about this so-called God of Death, or were you just making that up?"

He'd paused the rubbing action and I missed it. "Don't stop."

"Tell."

Obstinate thing. "I told you about Solo, right?"

"Older gelding you shared a stable with."

"Guiding light, sometimes. He taught me everything he knew, leaving out what he didn't," like sex, which I didn't say aloud.

Heero said nothing, but he encouraged me by resuming the back rub, letting me gather my thoughts and sniff back a few tears.

"There was this huge dog that would show up every so often and when he didn't we'd see this huge human with a bushy beard. Solo told me about werewolves, explaining how the man and the dog-wolf were the same."

"Hmm. How'd he learn about all those creatures?"

"He said if I looked through the window of a human's house, I might see one of their magic boxes, a box that showed pictures. He'd get out of the stall and go watch late at night."

"He was the one that showed you how to pick locks."

"Yeah, he did that, too."

"You ever watch the picture shows?"

"I tried. I learned the 'horse is a horse song' that way. You remember me singing that?"

"Yes. Don't do it again."

"Oh, okay. Anyway, where was I?"

"Picture shows."

"Oh, yeah. By the time I'd learned to get out, our owner mostly drank and slept and the box was dark."

"Hn."

Another few minutes of massage and I was floating in dreamland. As his nose smoothed over my back over my ass and edged closer to my tail I shivered. Not a good feeling or a bad one. One I couldn't define.

"Okay?" he asked me.

No, no, no! I didn't care what Sunshine claimed. It didn't sound "fulfilling" or wonderful to me. I didn't want anything stuffed in me and I had no desire to do that to Heero. It was all way too icky. Backrubs, now those were great. "Um, no, actually. But, uh, thanks for asking, though. It's just, um… Can you not go there?"

He didn't answer. He just pulled back a ways, leaving his neck draped over my back.

"Thanks, 'Ro." He probably didn't want to mess around that way either. Talk about peer pressure...

When I woke up, I was still in Heero's stall and he was standing, dozing with the sun rising over his shoulder; at least, that's how it looked.

I nudged his ass until his eyes flew open, "Morning!"

"No."

"Yes, it is. Wake up, honey, while I check on the others." I could hear him right at my heels as I did my rounds, unhitching the stall doors and wishing the inhabitants, "Good morning!"

The new addition to our happy home, residing in stall number six right next door to Goldie, had a head-heavy, lethargic stance when I found him. I liked Spot's name for Zechs, his Lordship, but I had an even better one, the Count. Vampires were Count-somethings.

"Morning wakeup call! I feel I oughta call you the Count. How does that sound to you?"

"I've been called the Lightning Count."

Bingo! Like I said, vampire.

"Why _Lightning_?"

"Yikes!" I nearly jumped a foot. I had not been expecting Heero to be taking snipe shots over my shoulder.

"I asked you a question." Heero said that with his shackles raised. He looked awesome that way with his dominant stallion flare fully powered up.

"Why do you care? I surely don't." The Count peered out from under his long white forelock. It was a measuring look for a second before he returned to upturning his morning mash into a bucket.

I was kinda wondering why Heero was so keyed up too, until I thought a little harder. Ah, jeez. Why hadn't I put it together that way? Lightning—fire—Heero's phobia. I hoped the vampire couldn't spew out fire or we'd be sunk. I'd never _heard_ they could do that.

The Count seemed more interested in his bucket of slop. I glimpsed a few apple treats at the bottom as the oats and mix sloshed to cover it all.

"Why won't you tell me? What are you hiding?" Heero was a determined horse, no doubt about it.

The Count swirled the bucket contents then set the bucket to the side. "I see. Well, naturally, you wouldn't want any horse faster than you. I can assure you the name had nothing to do with my swiftness. I'm trained for finesse, not speed."

Not good enough for my Heero. Nope.

"What are you doing with your food?" he asked.

This I thought was a fair question to ask. There was no reason to water yummy stuff down that way.

"Spoiling it, I hope." The self-proclaimed Lightning Count leaned against the side of his stall, looking completely put out by our intrusion.

"You're ruining your food? That's wasteful. If you don't want yours, you should offer it to the others."

Like me!

Our resident vampire pulled himself to his feet and reared his head to look intimidating. "Oh? You think so? It's mine and if I want it to rot first, I shall let it rot and you will not stop me."

The two postured off, nostrils flaring, and Heero carving a line in the straw. The Count whisked it away with a flick of his tail. Like a flash of lightning. Heh, heh. I got it. Heero either did or he didn't, but he wasn't happy at all.

"I _will_ stop you. _I'm_ number one."

I _so_ didn't want this to turn ugly and asked, "Wouldn't you rather go outside? I could show you around the pasturage." This sounded like a good idea to me, which was why I'd posed it. "The meadow grass is great, if you actually eat the stuff." If he was hoarding watered-down mash then he couldn't have been on a blood-exclusive diet.

Spot huffed and strutted off. "It's pretty silly to fight, you know. It's not as if you're cashing in on a heard of mares. Just us."

I think he directed that to the vampire and not Heero, but Heero rounded on him, nipping Spot's flank and kicking out at the Count, causing the bigger horse to back up.

Poor Sunshine. He hopped from one foot to the other. "Stop this or we'll have the humans involved! Lets' all just be friends."

"Good try," I congratulated him, but what we needed was a rallying cry more than a plea for sanity.

"Don't be stupid." Goldie surprised me by coming to the plate with a good idea. "It is time for hurdle training. We have no time to waste if we are to carry out our plan soon."

"There are hurdles?" The Count asked. "Why didn't you say so from the start?"

His eyes sparked and the vampire came to life. I really doubted that it was the expectation of exercise that got him all fired up, but what else? Goldie's cute little tail? He was sure flicking it mighty furiously, heh, heh…

"Can you jump?" I asked. This was primary on my mind right now.

Goldie practically collapsed. "Don't you know what a Lipizzan is? They are **renowned **for that!"

"Oh, don't mind the press," The Count said magnanimously, or it might have been a selfless comment had it been said by someone kind and thoughtful, but any idiot could tell he was actually lapping up Goldie's blatant adulation. "In spite of our royalty, we are truly an all-around horse capable of performing whatever task is required. What? Have you something in mind?"

Heero, on the other end of the love-him-hate-him ladder, looked undaunted by the vampire's grandeur and ancient lineage; a test of courage and ability was more likely to impress him. "Let's see how you hop a trestle first."

"It will have to wait. Here comes Howard," Sunshine warned, leaving off the "I told you so."

Howard ignored my request for a treat in favor of greeting the vampire disguised as a fancy-ass mount. Oh, yeah, The Count was a sluggish bore around us, but when approached by a person with a kind word, he transformed almost instantaneously to a docile, gentle horse. I couldn't believe my eyes, though, when Howard climbed on his back.

"Just look at that display of fiery animation," Goldie gushed, doing the play-by-play with way more relish than necessary. "Unforgettable! See how he leaves the ground with incredible power and grace without losing his proud bearing and superior presence?"

"Kind of a show off, isn't he?" Spot snuffled close to my ear.

"He's that," Heero agreed, rubbing up against the spotted horse affectionately. I guessed the two had made up, but then Spot wasn't one to hold a grudge against Heero, especially for his reprimand nip.

Sunshine "oohed and aahed" enough to make me want to give him a swift kick. I don't know how Trowa restrained himself. Oh, yeah. Love. When a got a peek under his forelock, I saw his eyes were closed. Maybe he was dreaming his love was cheering him on?

"Lipizzan horses excel in dressage, especially at the upper levels," Goldie continued. His eyes never left the white horse. Not even to talk to us.

We all watched the show a while longer, and then Howard dismounted and let us all mix in peace.

"How seriously can one take those dressage competitions?" I asked. I expected Goldie took them very seriously, and probably Heero and very likely Sunshine, too, but none of them admitted it now, letting The Count answer the question.

"One does when one is in the moment, I suppose."

"Was that a moment then? You had to be concentrating pretty completely."

"You are referring to the three "P" level movements- the _piaffe _(a powerful trot in place full of cadence and rhythm), _passage _(a slow motion floating trot), and canter _pirouettes?"_

"I guess."

"Your execution was breathtaking." We all stared at Goldie as if he'd grown horns, the silly deer, but he didn't seem to care how silly he sounded. It had to be love. It just had to be. Not that I would deny anyone that, but in love with a vampire?

"What does it matter how brilliant I was, when the abilities were simply inborn?"

Spot snorted. "I had to practice a lot."

Well, damn, it sure mattered to Spot, who claimed to have worked hard to achieve the grace that he had.

"That's because you haven't natural-born rhythm, as I have. Yes, a natural sense of rhythm that lets me maintain a very even tempo at all times."

Spot grumbled something under his breath that Sunshine shushed up pronto with a litany of flattery, which embarrassed the poor guy even more, from the way he was hiding his face behind his fall of hair.

And in the end, our hurdle practice got put off, as we were shooed out into the pasture by the help.

There were the usual birds and bees and butterflies and sun and breezes. The Count stood off a bit with Goldie waffled about halfway in between the rest of the herd and the object of his adoration, as if to form a link. It was okay. Heero seemed calm about it and if he was satisfied then all was well.

We did the usual munching and walking and sniffing and dosing until Heero signaled for us to return home. He led and we followed in a line by stall number: Heero, me, Spot, Sunshine, Goldie, and The Count, assuming his place without quarrel. All in all, a perfectly pleasant day marked only once by The Count when he passed close by me when we entered the corral and remarked about my "luxurious mane and tail."

"It's a pain," I admitted, "all the fussing the humans go through to maintain it."

"I understand," he said.

I'm sure he did with his own amazing, pure white tail that he swished around with abandon, snagging it on thorns. Goldie had occupied himself all afternoon, I'm sure pleasantly, trailing after the big, white horse and nipping the hair free.

"There's worse pain."

I was about to say something about battle wounds, when I caught the glint of a fang. He was grinning at me; I was sure, or sneering. He just couldn't hide his true nature from me, but before I could call him on it, Heero bumped me.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, he was trying to impress me with his vampire fang."

Heero looked torn between smacking me and kicking The Count. "You know, you're flogging a dead horse with that vampire talk," he told me. "It's hopeless trying to convince me, so drop it."

I didn't want to argue the existence of vampires again, especially dead and flogged ones, and since I knew I'd much rather commune with my 'Ro in a fun way than squabble, I nudged him back and got into a little pushing fight, the kind that with Heero was entertaining.

When we returned to our stalls, I gotta whiff of something foul, something familiar, something from the past. I wasn't one to dwell on the past. My memories of it were fading pretty fast, but some things could dredge them up with all the clarity of the present. Like Heero's questioning or like smell.

It came from The Count's stall. His mash was bubbling, and when I got close up I recognized it for the brew it was. "Poison! Don't eat that. My owner drank spoiled fruit juice that smelled like that and died. I'm sure it can't be good for us."

"You mean alcohol?" The Count drawled out in an irritating, careless way. "It's terrible for humans and horse alike. That is why I'm drinking it."

"You can't mean that!" Sunshine looked wide-eyed appalled. "You are killing yourself over this move?"

"This move? Oh, Lord no. It doesn't matter. Nothing matters. Not anymore."

"Nonsense," Goldie snapped over his shoulder. "You were a fighting horse, a warrior of peace—"

"I _was_. My lieutenant owner was killed in battle, a battle that left the lead horse MIA. No peace came from that tactical catastrophe."

Mention "peace" and expect Sunshine to charge into the discussion, which he did. "Maintaining the peace even through a show of force, what could be more meaningful?"

"There was a time when I was as idealistic as you are now, but no conditions must be met for total peace. First, all weapons must be eliminated. And second... the desire to fight must be erased from people's minds. Both are impossible, thus no permanent peace."*

What a downer this guy was. But then, when life just goes on and on and all you do is suck the life out of others, how could you be anything but a depressant?

Lucky for us we had our little ray of Sunshine. He was like an anti-depressant with enough positive strength of mind that he couldn't be discouraged by a mere brooding vampire. "There are other ways and people who can write laws for the masses to obey and live together harmoniously, and others who can punish those who disobey. Peace can be achieved over time, I just know it!"

"Well, I see there's only one more thing required for true peace. A strong heart that can empathize with people, like yours. You're too pure and too kind... but I guess that's what gives you the right to live."*

"We all have that right and we will, starting with Heero."

"Heero? Why him? Is he ill?"

"No!" Heero said with a derisive snort.

"No, but his past owner wants to take him back and we don't want him to leave. We won't let him go, so we have a plan."

"An excellent plan," Goldie assured him.

"How do the hurdles come into this plan of yours?"

The Count's eyes reflected gold and looked livelier than before. Maybe we were the best amusement he'd had in a long time?

* Quotes directly from the series

**Horse Notes:**

The hierarchy may change whenever you introduce a new horse into an established group. If you introduce a new horse, there's going to be some scrapping and fighting until they re-establish the hierarchy. Every horse is a unique individual, yet the ability to blend in with the herd is of utmost importance. Horses have become genetically predisposed to this blending. This is one of the reasons they immediately begin to establish a pecking order upon meeting a new horse. One horse will ultimately become the leader.


	16. Chapter 16

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: My deepest gratitude goes to Waterlily for all the edits and re-edits and droll comments, which I inserted into the horse-talk, to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking and support, and to my readers for your encouragement.

**Chapter Sixteen— Sweet Sixteen**

**(o) Trowa 's POV**

I wished I hadn't overheard what I had, but I had. Duo and Heero were having some problems. Heero's possessive mounting of Duo was getting him nowhere, much like circling a ring, 'round an' 'round. Duo was snarkier than ever. I didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but he was obviously uncomfortable with that particular attention. Heero was nippy, jumpy, and oozing excess hormones, expected from an Alpha male and our leader. I was about to kick them both from here to the fence and back if they wouldn't come to terms. Duo had to learn his place and Heero had to be a better leader.

I didn't like the way Zechs watched them, still feeling his way into our hierarchy. He stood about like he ruled the place, but he obediently fell into line on Heero's orders. Neither Beautiful nor I wanted him for a lead horse. I didn't know how Wufei felt, except that he'd dropped the hair chewing for a while in favor of posing in the sunlight when he thought his Lordship was looking. It seemed that way to me, anyway.

It had been my beautiful lover's idea to separate Duo and Heero and _talk_, while doing plan preparations. He was talking to Heero now, leaving Wufei with his Lordship and me with Duo.

So, here I was, following his orders instead of kicking horse ass to get Heero and Duo to play by the book. I told him straight out that I was not going to talk sex with Duo. Not my strong point, talking. _Doing_, on the other hoof…And I wasn't trying to pass the buck, either.

I put both front hooves down and pounded back and forth for effect. No, no,no. No sex talk with Duo, said I.

He batted those long eyelashes of his at me. Whatever I'd been thinking escaped me right then. He was so pleasing to the eye. Good thing I was back to standing on all fours or I might have keeled over, that's all.

He told me to leave that to him, for which I was almost happy, but not. I didn't want him talking sex with Duo, either, even when he sugar-coated it. And there was no denying the fact that Duo was a charmer. One thing could lead to another. And his participation in any active demonstrations with my Beautiful didn't appeal to me.

Too late for telling him what I'd do or not do, though. _I_ might be number three and _him _number four, but that only got me so far, and since that included topping him, then I couldn't, didn't, and, unless I went crazy, would _never_ complain.

But when it came to arguing, I could put my hoof down and I could lift it up, didn't matter none to him. He'd flash me those big round eyes of his and I'd go pretty much to mush and forget any argument I mighta had. No, my pretty friend just bugged about ordering me as he saw fit, while I happily obliged him.

As I was doing now.

As it was, Duo and me had other things to do and were doing them, but there niggling away in the back of my mind was Beautiful's suggestion. To his mind, I could try straightening Duo's head out when it came to flirting with the new stallion, starting immediately. Now, I was sure Duo had no idea all his attention to his Lordship could be mistaken for flirting. He hadn't figured out what Heero was trying to do yet, I was pretty sure.

Cluing in Duo on what he was doing not only sounded reasonable, it was within my realm of talking points, and didn't force me to shoot my mouth off about sex. He was just a sweet colt not really ready for it, was how I saw it. Anyway, I agreed to give it a try. I nudged Duo's side to get his attention. "Hey."

"Hey, Spot, I'm awake. Just resting my eyes."

Spot. What a nickname, but he had a penchant for naming us all, so it was okay. Better than Wufei's "number three" designation for me. Glad that ended. "Okay. Don't worry about Wufei and his Lordship. Watch the shed."

"He's so a vampire and no one takes me seriously. Look at him study Goldie preening in the sun. He'd better leave him alone."

Not happening, Duo.

"From what Beautiful's passed on to me, his Lordship's problem is plain: he misses an old friend. The lead horse in his regiment went missing in action and they were real close."

That's how my beautiful Quatre explained away his Lordship's world-weariness, and that's what I told Duo.

"So he started poisoning himself over that? He's crazy."

"Probably he is."

"Well all got problems, but you don't see us wallowing. My owner was crazy that way and my friends died from his neglect. I don't want that to happen again."

What I wanted to say was more along the lines of "stay away from him" or at least point out how he was giving Heero a heap of heartache by devoting so much attention to the new horse. Not really fawning, that was Wufei's realm, but showing more interest than Heero could take. And I didn't know how long it would take for this new dominant stallion to think Duo was standing up to Heero. If Heero didn't punish him, it could be interpreted as weakness.

Would Zechs challenge Heero? I couldn't say. Beautiful wasn't sure, but didn't feel he "had it in him"—yet.

I was sure that if I tried to tell Duo to ignore the new horse, he'd get his defenses up. If I didn't say anything, he'd bring up the subject of Heero all by himself. That was my guess.

"No crazier than _Heero_, though."

Sigh. I hated being so right. I slipped in the point of contention now, saying, "His Lordship's a challenge to his leadership position, you can see that, can'tcha? He's supposed to act that way."

Duo shifted uncomfortably a second, like he was deciding whether or not to tell me to mind my own business.

Well, I'd tried.

Then he shook his tail excitedly. I saw what he saw, but he was first to say something. "There!"

A workman stowed some buckets in the shed and moved away.

Our eyes had never left the scene in front of us. We'd been watching the goings-on at the storage shed most of the morning. I'd been watching it for weeks. I'd observed the schedules humans followed, the patterns linked to the numbers on the clock, and set them to memory.

"Okay, the man's gone. You think he left the storage door unlocked?"

"Yeah, they do during the course of the day, every day I've watched. Open at ten and close up after three, unless a work crew is out, then the crew locks up when they are done. No one's around from twelve to one, when I reckon they take an eating break."

"Lunch time is our window, then."

"That's right."

He looked up at me expectantly.

And I told him, "Soon."

All the humans gathered outside the house to eat communally at that time. Long wooden tables had been set out in the shade of oak trees as old as the hills. I didn't know where they ate when the weather wasn't so fine. Another building further off, maybe.

The last stable boy ran to the tables as we stood there.

"Okay, let's go." Duo was about to charge over to the shed, so I chomped onto his neck to hold him back. "Hey! You leave a mark an' 'Ro won't be so happy about it."

Nice try. I wasn't leaving a mark, and he knew it. I let go when he stopped wiggling. "Slow and easy. We got's time. No reason to draw attention."

"Oh, yeah. Think they're looking at us?"

"No, but the doctors could be. I don't see them."

"We juss be chilling then…heh, heh."

I liked Duo's enthusiasm almost as much as that of Beautiful. Both could make the sun shine on a stormy day, even though Duo was black as soot, 'cept for the scythe-shaped blaze down his nose. I wondered if he was aware of how striking a pair he and His Lordship made—black and white tails blowing free and mixing in the breeze? Probably not. But our fearless leader did. Heero was an exceptional horse, but he couldn't mask his dislike or jealous feelings toward the new stallion.

We drifted toward the shed, grazing on a weed or two along the way. I really only had one more message to pass on, so I did it before I forgot it. "Duo?"

"Yeah? Moving too fast?"

"No, you're fine. It's- uh-"

"Spit it out, sweetheart."

"Heero, uh, no… It's more about Zechs—"

"The Count? Yeah, he's a character, isn't he? Easy on the eyes, for sure, like all the undead, but whatta headcase, right?"

"About that vampire stuff, you don't think he just puts on an act to tease you, that he just a washed-up old war horse?"

"Hell no! Not on your life! And I mean it about the "your life" part; you're putting it on the line 'round him."

"He's what Beautiful calls 'a destabilizing factor for the herd'."

"He would." Duo nosed his way into the shed. It was large enough for the two of us. "Which one of these cans is the white paint? Sure wish 'Ro was here to read labels."

Hadn't thought of that. There were a lot of cans. "It makes Heero jealous when you hang with Zechs or watch him or talk about him, which you do a lot."

There, I'd spit it out plain as day.

"Because he's a vampire! Jeesh! I gotta keep an eye on him! You never know when he's gonna wanna snack and then grrrrr-snap! He's gotcha!"

Horse Gods above. "How about I do that part? No, I can do you even better, Wufei can watch him every minute, if he has to," which he already has been by his own choosing, making it real easy for me, "and you guard Heero. Wouldn't want our leader to get, ah, drained."

"Wufei watch The Count? That _might _work, if he believed me about the vampire threat. He's falling head-over-hoof over the him and his 'warrior ways', though, and might miss the actual attack for all his starry-eyed-ness."

"We'll keep an eye out as well then, and you protect Heero."

"You and Sunshine will watch for sinister creepiness? Promise?"

"Yeah. Maybe we can rope that stupid cat into helping."

"Percy, yeah."

I must have settled him down. I could see the worry evaporate of him like dew in the morning sun. Heero owed me, not that I'd ever get to collect on that debt.

"All right then… Whaddya think of that stack of cans? They got white paint smears on the outside."

To me, they all looked like white smears. My color vision wasn't as keen as his, apparently. I knew one horse in the circus who swore she could tell red from blue from green, and was the only one of us to choose the right ball to kick every time just to prove herself. "You pick."

"We'll take a can to Heero and let him check it out."

That went better than I'd thought it would, but then I hadn't hoped to achieve anything. I'd keep an eye on his Lordship, when Wufei wasn't glued to his side, and Heero would get the devotion from Duo that he required.

Good. Real good by my reckoning. Beautiful would be proud of my achievement. And we had the paint.

"Ah, shit! Human intercepting us."

We'd been spotted. Both of us for a change. Duo loped over toward the stable and took a nose dive into the roses and one of the human workmen was screaming. Why _would _a couple of horses be carrying around a can of paint? I couldn't think of a way around it, but Duo had been a step ahead of me. The human wasn't interested in the can at all.

"Whew! Ditched the can in the bushes. Man, that dude's upset about his flowers, though."

The gardener. "He thinks we're after his flowers?" Better than being caught carrying paint cans, I guess.

"One of us can fetch it later when he's gone."

And when Heero's not busy. I could see him in the distance talking with Beautiful still. I needed to buy them more time. Life could be so complex. I was glad we all had one another to talk to.

"So, tell me about vampires." I didn't know what I'd let myself into with that.

**(o) Quatre's POV**

Trowa's task was to collect the paint can, the one we would use later for Heero's "pinto" disguise, and to convince Duo not to flirt with Zechs. My plan was to get some alone time with Heero and knock some romance into his blunt head. Of course, _his _first inclination was to trail after Duo. He wouldn't fall off a cliff in the black horse's wake, but he would stand at the very edge, lean over, locate him, and drag him back up, if possible, or find a way to rescue him, all the while berating him for stupidly getting himself into that fix.

Heero was besotted without a clue as to what to do next, and he was jealous of the newcomer for attracting Duo's attention. For all the wrong reasons. I knew Duo wasn't interested sexually in Zechs. I could feel it. Duo was fascinated by him for bringing to life one of his colt-hood fantasies—a vampire trotting and flitting amongst us. And it seemed to the rest of us that Duo hadn't been able to prove to Heero where his heart belonged, something he wasn't gifted at doing even if he could express himself endlessly on other issues. Their combined incompetence could spill over into our herd dynamics, mess with the execution of Heero's disappearance, and spoil everything.

Not that I felt Zechs was about to push Heero aside and take over as lead horse, but his position in our herd was not set. Anything could happen and Duo's stubbornness and Heero's uncertainty could trigger an explosion to reorder us all.

Which is where I came in. Wufei was more than willing to take on Zechs and draw him off, while I cornered Heero.

Actually, I cut across his dogged path to meet Duo and said, "Let them handle the paint alone. Too many horses will draw attention."

He stopped. Blinked. "True."

"And while I have you alone, I'd like to talk to you about your relationship."

"It's personal."

Don't think that attitude is going to get me to back off! "I'm sorry, but it's messing with the livelihood of the herd, Heero, and if you weren't so involved you'd see it yourself."

"It's that new stallion."

"Zechs? He's just a little pebble in the pond making ripples. Your relationship with Duo is a fall of boulders damning the flow of water in and out."

Heero raised his neck and tried to stare me down. He was very good at doing that. He had male dominance down pat. My stomach churned, but I defiantly held my own against him, while appearing meek to an observer.

"I can help you. I know he's devoted to you and his interest in Zechs is only—"

"He refuses to have anything to do with sex with me." Heero just blurted that out.

"But he loves you, I can tell. He cuddles against you whenever he can."

"Like a _brother_."

I did not believe that.

"I'm like his older _brother, _taking the place of his previous stable buddy, and I hate that, especially after the things I think about doing to him."

_Guilt._ I was assailed by his guilt. "Have you told him? Does he know how you feel about him?"

"He rejected me! What part of that didn't you get?"

"He's very innocent, younger than the rest of us. I explained what I could to him, and he understood it all, but—"

"_You _gave him the sex talk?"

"As it turned out, yes. He seemed okay with it too, by the end."

"It must have been an act of his because he wasn't okay with it _at all_. What exactly did you tell him… and why?"

"Why? Duo had been avoiding me, and when I questioned him about that, eventually he said that _you_, apparently, had mentioned _something_ to him about Trowa and me, not that I minded terribly, but your remarks had come totally out of the blue from Duo's perspective. He couldn't even look me in the eye he was so upset about it."

"I thought he knew—"

"How sex worked? What it entailed? How it could be a loving bond and not just a mark of ownership? Well, he didn't, so I explained how it all worked and that it was nice."

"The 'nice' part didn't sink in. He won't let me— even when I forced— oh, never mind."

"Oh, I do mind. I mind a great deal. I don't want him spooked. I want your attention to be one hundred percent on business when we meet next with the Mustangs, not wavering and waffling on about Duo- or Zechs, of all things."

"I can keep my mind on—"

"You can't." That earned me a rigid neck and glare. "Heero, I _feel_ these things. In humans and horses alike. What you two are going through is normal and fixable."

"Hn."

"It is. I'll talk to Duo again. Maybe I could be more explicit about the preparation part. I told him it didn't hurt if there was enough spit-."

"You said _what?_ Under no circumstances will you talk to him about that, any more."

"He has to learn somehow."

"Not from you," Heero said with absolute certainty.

Right into my trap he fell. "So, _you_'ll be instructing him?"

Of course not. Heero had the drive for sex, but from the nervous vibes he was transmitting I felt certain that he had little to no practical experience to draw from.

"I could have Trowa teach him a trick or two," I suggested with total innocence. I practice.

"No!"

"He's very gentle—" I could tell I'd gone too far with the suggestion, so before he could snap my head off I threw him totally off balance. "Then he'll have to learn by seeing. He'll watch us—don't say no! Hear me out."

He did, and then he told me, "Trowa won't like it."

"Let me handle him. You keep your focus on Duo."

**(o) Wufei's POV**

He _was_ magnificent—just as Heero had noted. And now he was looking at me. ME! Just me.

Of course, I turned so the sun caught me at just the right angle and my sides glowed. I'd been taught by exacting trainers to do that to excellent effect. And it worked again. His eyes were drawn to me, as I was doing my best to appear to be the battle-hardened warrior I felt I had in me.

"You appear to be made from molten gold. What breed?"

"Dragon clan, Akhal-Teke." My mouth had gone so suddenly dry I wasn't sure how that came out.

"Akhal-Teke," he repeated to get the pronunciation correct. "As I had thought. A singular breed in these parts. Your coat is stunning. Like pure molten gold. Molten gold."

He must have liked the way those words flowed off his tongue since he repeated them. I liked his long, fluid tongue.

Then he stunned me.

"I can't imagine humans riding you into battle. You would shine like a beacon."

But, but…! The injustice!

"Unless that would be the strategy. Draw the attack toward the beacon and away from the real weapon."

He'd insulted me and yet built a pedestal beneath me from which I could glow from my non-accomplishment. Unfortunately, his was a valid assessment of my worthiness. I chose to step off my artificial plinth and find my own support, shaky as it would be.

"I was restricted to parades," I admitted with stifling humility.

"Wasteful, but then humans lack imagination. They seriously underestimated the value of my life *, so I'm sure they do it for other horses."

His expressive, sad eyes looked away into the distance. Looking for solace from his conflicted past, perhaps?

"Ah, it appears that they made it inside the storage shed."

Say, what? Grrr… he was just tracking **Duo!** Now that's not fair at all! Get your eyes off him and on me. ME!

"Or maybe they didn't. I'm just a throw-away any more. Incidental."

Throw-away? What was this perfect-specimen-on-hooves talking about now?

"Absolutely not! Howard was devising your trade from the start. None of us are considered insignificant here."

"Like a ghost drifting on the moors—"

"Excuse me? Who might I ask is the ghost?"

"The regiment's command horse. My rider was shot, killed, so was his. The battle was terrible and bloody. There I walked amongst the crying of the lost, the laments of the vanquished… I trampled dead men, their blood mixing with the mud, to get to him."

"Your rider?"

"No, my esteemed leader."

"Was he injured?"

"I assume so. I don't know; I didn't see him fall. He'd just disappeared. Gone, gone like so many others. Unburied and forgotten. Left to die with the other fallen like so much useless baggage."

"Oh, so you never found him, your leader." I was floundering in my own fog.

"No. I wasn't left to wander long enough. I find I cannot quietly sleep in my grave while his spirit is still roaming.* My will to fight had gone with him and I was sold and sold and sold."

Too gloomy. I'd trod that brooding path myself. I would do well to restore this noble stallion to his righteous state of mind.

"Well, you are treasured here. We all are. We receive the finest care. Howard and the doctors chose us all carefully, structuring a herd of excellent stallions for their enjoyment."

"You do no work?"

Up until now? No, but now I think of you and engaging in many, many remarkable activities.

"We take the humans on pleasure rides and have time to pursue our own interests."

"Have you?"

_Yes! Oh yes oh yes oh yes and it's you! _No, I mean, not yet. What was he asking? "Have I interests or have I taken up any?"

"Both, either, choose what you like."

How about you?

"Me?"

Preserve me, ancestors! I said that aloud?

"You're young, a stallion. Why would you want to waste that on a lost cause-?"

"Piffle! You'resuffering from battle fatigue," you gorgeous, brooding aristocrat, you. "What you need is fresh air, pasture, and-"

"Distraction?"

In the form of _me_, yes. I did not mistake his seductive inflection. I'd heard it before, fallen prey to it before. I'd been curious and seduced and used, not completely against my will. It left me with experience in the ways of love, which meant that this time I was aware of what was being inferred and what I was setting myself up for. As scandalous as free-mating seemed once, around these other hot-blooded stallions, well, they weren't in the position to judge my behavior.

"Yes, and a friend." I dearly wanted a soul mate of my own.

"A very, very good friend."

"Yes." A _mate_.

"Well, that changes things, doesn't it?"

"I hope so. I like this place. It is my home. We are all happy here. I could be happier, still." That sounded so slutty I nearly choked on it; in fact, I did, coughing in embarrassment. Disgraceful, possibly.

"Oh, I'll see to that."

I sobered up instantly. Perhaps I ought to be clear on all this? "I was just wondering—?"

"Yeees?"

Oooh, the way he drew out that vowel made me shiver. And then he flipped yards of white, silky tail in my face. Oh, my! I licked, sucked in a mouthful. Damn my weakness, ancestors!

"I recognize a chewer every time. I need a trim, if you're up to it?"

Justice, at last!

"Let's take this someplace more private, say, your stall?"

Yes, lets!

And if he challenged number one, then that could lead me to becoming number two, a comfortable position in the herd.

**(o) Duo's POV**

I wanted some _alone time_ to chew over the recent conversation. Spot looked doubtful that he should leave me alone; at least, that's how I interpreted his long face.

"I'm fine."

He still didn't budge and he still gazed mournfully at the paint bucket.

"I just wanna think before running into 'Ro, 'kay?"

Long pause while he processed that and assessed my mood and stability.

"Sure. You do that. I'll just take care of moving the paint can myself," he promised and left muttering something that sounded like, "Pack your plunder- we're headin' for the border."

Okay, so he'd actually been waiting for me to offer to retrieve the paint bucket. He maybe cared about my feelings, too. What counted was he'd left me be without another lecture or word of advice.

Stare at the clouds and think is what I did.

Where did everyone get the idea that my sex life was their business? Not from me. No way. Anybody think to ask me what I wanted? No-o. Me, I wanted to be left alone. Let me an' 'Ro work it out for ourselves, and that slow and over time. No pushing, er, _rushing _it.

I wanted the nuzzling and the warm body next to mine. I loved the ear action and the way he rubbed my back. The rear attack? No, baby.

Well, someday. I'd take it under consideration, but I just wanted to wrap my head around the idea for a while. And I didn't like how everyone knew everything, but me. How everyone wanted us to just do it already and calm Heero down. Jeez…

That all really steamed me. And mortified me to death. I'd just explain it to Heero real clear how I felt and hope he'd still like me. He'd do that, wouldn't he? Sure, he was patient.

Not only that, but they—I say "they", 'cause I knew Spot spoke for them all—figured me for a fool. There was no way, no way that The Count was playing me. He was a vampire, through and through. It would take my urban chutzpa to keep him in his place, and vigilance. I mean, sure The Count might tease me and _pretend _to be playin' the part of a vampire when the others were around and might see, but he was evil through and through.

And then it occurred to me, we should put that immortal acting ability to some use. There had to be a way to exploit the vampire to our advantage when next we faced the Mustangs.

He could take them out one at a time.

No, that would build him an undead posse. Bad idea all around.

He could threaten them.

Would those stupid wild horses even know he was threatening them with eternal damnation when he flashed his blood-sucking teeth? Ugh, probably not.

There'd be something, though. I'd come up with something.

In the meantime, Spot and Sunshine, if he spoke for him, too, would be watching The Count. Oh, yeah, and the cat. Now, how could I get Percy to watch for signs of evil trickery? Being a fellow creature of the dark, it shouldn't be difficult for a cat to plug into the vampire thing, but this cat was a deal maker. He already had us all at his beck and call. I owed him big most the time. What more could I do for him? Steal Howard's fish bait from the cooler?

And there was Goldie. Yeah, like _he_'d keep an eye on the vampire, yeah. Keep a tooth on all that hair, more likely, which reminded me of how I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him and The Count, or the others.

And then Heero trotted up, looking good. He always looked good, but today he looked real good to me. "Hey, handsome, where's everybody?"

"Testing the paint, or about to." His nostrils flared. Kinda sexy.

I nearly told him that, but didn't. I didn't wasn't to give him ideas or lead him into thinking about those things. Not ready to talk to him.

"They are opening the container," he went on. "I'm getting a brush."

They could use The Count's tail, if it came to that, but Heero was gone before I could suggest that alternative. Not that it mattered. I was in a better mood, having worked through my problems on my own, and decided to go see how the paint worked. It was at the crux of our plan to hide Heero.

I figured the others to be in the barn, but no. Nada.

"Hey, Sunshine!" I called but got no answer. Not from nobody.

So, I checked their stalls. I assumed he and Spot were messing about trying to open that paint can in their shared stall. I heard the noise, then I saw—

"More Trowa, more!"

Oh, fuck, ah I mean uh…

I backed away towards the far end of the stall lineup, but not before getting an eyeful of my two friends getting it on.

Spots before my eyes!

UGH!

And blindly backed past Goldie's stall to The Count's.

Where said horse was bare-backing Goldie to the same tune as the aforementioned pair.

I whirled about and this time rear-ended a warm body.

"Duo? Are you all right?"

Heero!

I opened my mouth to talk, but my vision went speckled, then mercifully all was dark.

*** These were direct quotes from the series**

**Horse Notes:**

Herd and hierarchy.

One of the strongest of the horse's natural urges is the herding instinct. Before horses were domesticated, their survival depended to a large extent on herd grouping. A horse alone stood little chance of survival, yet a community of horses was much more likely to survive.

But whereas human friendships normally are formed between peers and equals, horses relate to each other in a hierarchy. Every herd has leaders, followers, and a well defined pecking order known as a dominance hierarchy. The alpha horse is the dominant leader in a herd. Horses instinctively seek leadership, and the alpha horse provides that security in a herd. Rather than feel oppressed or unhappy, the hierarchy gives the low-ranking horses a sense of security because they have a specific position in the herd, and know exactly what they may and may not do.

With herd instinct always at play in the background, a "newbie" horse can quickly learn something new by watching one or more experienced horses do the very thing you want to teach.


	17. Chapter 17

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for all the edits and humanizing the boys and to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking and keeping them equine.

**Chapter Seventeen— Reasons to Bail **

**(o) Duo's POV**

I was aware of the firm floor of the stall and that I was lying on it. It felt pretty good, considering my head hurt on one side more than it should and I could tell it was light out. I didn't ordinarily nap on the floor of the stall during the day, and I wondered why I was doing it now. Then I heard a shuffle of hooves and snuffle of noses far too close to my ears. I opened my eyes and stared up the noses of four horses. I could see two more a short distance off through the curtain of my mane flung helter-skelter over my face.

Drat. I willed them away, which did absolutely no good. I could still hear them.

"He's awake!"

"I can see that."

"Duo, are you okay?"

"He's fine, just back off, Quatre."

"It wasn't my idea."

"He knows that, Trowa."

"Give him some air."

"Let Heero deal with this one."

"Well, okay, now that he's awake. I was so worried."

"He knows, Quatre. Go."

"I'm so sorry, Duo! I-I just don't know what happened to my horse-sense this time!"

My eyelids snapped shut just as I wished I could shut off the rest of the universe and erase my memories. I wanted to sleep and wake up someplace else. I recalled everything. I wanted to crawl under the floorboards and disappear. I wanted to be anyplace than where I was dying of humiliation.

"You fainted."

Well, duh, Heero. How about some sympathy? My lips remained sealed, leaving my mind to run rampant.

"I didn't know a horse could do that."

Glad I could complete your life experiences. I kept that thought to myself too, but I shoulda said it out loud just to be mean, but I didn't wanna face them all. Not yet. Maybe that got through to Sunshine or maybe I could will some of them away, 'cause I heard the scuffle of retreating hooves.

Not Heero, though.

"You just slumped down on your knees then leaned over and—"

"I get the picture. Stop. Enough."

"-that's why I knew you weren't hurt. You didn't hit the floor hard."

Why did I think Heero heard me?

"Everyone's gone. You can get up now."

_You're_ not gone.

"Duo, talk to me."

"Don't kick me. It won't make me move faster." Actually, it did; I forced my legs to respond and hefted my bulk to all fours. I wanted him to back off. I didn't want to talk to him. I really, really wanted to be alone. For about five years. Five should be enough to wipe away the vision of my stall buddies having sex with one another.

"That wasn't the talk I meant."

A lip brushed the hair from my eyes. So gently. _Were_ we still good? That had _felt _good.

"Not talking," I muttered, knowing it sounded stupid.

Aside from the lip, he wasn't touching me. He was keeping his distance and looking _contrite_ enough for us to be good.

"The others are in the arena practicing their jumps—hurdles, I mean."

Yeah, yeah. So I could hide in my stall and be all alone, if I wanted. I was so mad at them, and embarrassed, it wouldn't have surprised me if I'd broken out in blisters.

But I hadn't. I'd fainted.

I could run off and hide away.

Or I could buck up and just march in there and practice, too. Hell! I didn't do nothing wrong! Why should I hang my head? If they don't wanna be walked in on, they can shut their damned doors!

What more did 'Ro expect from me? He certainly expected something since he continued to stand there. Waiting. Well, he wasn't gonna get any complaint from me. If he wanted something, he could kiss my aa-ah… forget it! "Let's go, then. I can use some limbering up."

The temperature rose a few notches. I felt hot (again!) as he gave me a warm look, pride oozing from his pores.

"You've got guts," he told me.

"Chutzpah. I've got chutzpah, and don't you forget it!"

"I won't. I'll never underestimate you."

When we stepped into the barn, I wouldn't have guessed four other horses were working out. Silence reigned, the kind of quiet that had just happened. I bet that if I'd been able to sneak in, incognito, moments before I'da heard all the whispered conversations. Sorry to have interrupted them, again.

I didn't see as much as feel lots of eyes tracking my progress into the arena. Heero walked at my side and spoke to me loudly enough for the others to hear.

"I suggested we raise the height. We have to clear the top and Trowa estimated it to be higher than what we've been jumping. We should practice before the humans interfere. I'll go first."

I kept my focus on him and watched him sail over the obstacles effortlessly. The second time around, Spot counted aloud the steps 'Ro took before leaving the ground. The third time, I had the pattern in my head. I could jump the extra height. I might need one or two more steps to keep up my speed, though. I wouldn't have to clear much distance to get over the fence, just height. I'd have plenty of running room out there in the pasture to do it.

Sunshine gave it a try, but turned away at the last moment. He wasn't any better at hurdles than me, actually. Wufei only _just_ cleared the new height. Spot's long legs gave him an advantage, but his general athleticism was his real strength. The Count could have jumped them all backwards, legs bound, carrying a rider, and dragging Goldie, teeth buried in that white plume of a tail.

I couldn't count the steps, but I remembered at what point Heero's hooves had left the ground. When I got there it seemed a mile from the hurdle. I moved on and lost my concentration enough to miss my chance for that one. I ran to the next without letup and felt it and leaped. My rear hooves clicked on the top edge, but I made it over. I'd have to do better, though.

Goldie ran with me and his smooth cadence on the approach helped. We jumped together and cleared it fine.

"Yay! I want to try that!" Sunshine trotted up to us, eager to beat the new height.

I felt the team pull together and around me. One more hurdle accomplished.

Our activities were interrupted by the humans and their need to go riding, which was fine. I didn't mind the fresh air and opportunity to avoid one-on-one chats with my friends. The exercise was welcome, for sure, and I enjoyed the grooming when we got back and the nice meal waiting for me in my stall.

Also waiting for me, low and behold, was a fluff of white fur. Percy greeted me with a loud purr.

"Hey, little buddy, how are you doing? Nice digs, horsehair nest and everything. I was just wondering if you've met the new horse, last stall down?" Aw, don't yawn. C'mon look at me, you flea-bitten hairball. No, you don't need a bath now either. "He's snowy white like you, in fact."

That did it. Getting personal. I had Percy's attention now, so even if he couldn't understand what I was saying, I leaned in to keep my mouth close to his ears. "He's not a horse like us. He's a vampire horse. One of the undead. He sucks blood to re-animate himself and turns his victims into more like him. Yeah, a real bad guy."

Meow!

And a tail flick!

"Oh, yeah, and he's active at night. Watch him! He doesn't have to restrict himself to just other horses (although I didn't know this for a fact). You could be next!"

Yeow!

I guess I scared him that time, or maybe I stepped on his tail- "Oh, yeah. I was hoping you'd be interested. Whoozzat?"

**(o) Wufei's POV**

With so many issues hanging over the herd, I thought it a foolhardy expedition to take on the Mustangs so soon. I questioned 01's leadership, but not enough to challenge him directly. If I searched my soul, I knew somewhere I'd come up short. He was stronger in so many ways. He was a tough defender of the herd and, more importantly, the original three loved and respected him. Despite his refusal to submit completely, I could tell 02 did not mean to threaten 01's position. 03 and 04 likewise showed no signs of divided loyalty or desire to test their leader.

That left only Zechs. Clearly he came from superior stock, regal in carriage, with the heart of a warrior—and of a leader; at least, at one time. He was damaged now, but with my guidance I was certain he could rise against 01, and gain the Alpha stallion role. That would put me in second place, or third behind 01. I had no doubts that I could take on 02, 03, or 04 in any fight to the top.

Did I _want_ to fight my way to the top?

I'd finished eating my nice mash, when I heard a heavy hoof at my stable door. Our stalls hadn't been secured for the night, so it could be anyone. Who would I welcome?

Any doubt as to what I wanted was swept away by the tickly, swipe of silky, white tail across my back and the velvet, husky tone of Zechs' voice near my ear. "You look magnificent in this lighting. Glowing."

Melting into the floor, was more like it. I was certain I had honey for joints. "I was thinking about you."

"Were you? Good thoughts?"

"Yes, of course."

"Our coupling wasn't too soon for you? I don't want your spirit broken if you weren't ready."

Too soon? Not at all! Dragon Clan did not break! I thought I'd proven just how receptive I was. "It would take more than a single act of dominance play to undo me."

"Dominance play? You think that was all there was to it? That I have no deeper feelings for you?"

Or that my feelings for you, Zechs, run so shallow? That was left unsaid. I found I liked that hint of neediness coming from those noble lips.

"I hope not. You left bite marks as proof of your dominion, however."

That seemed to amuse him. He licked my slightly damaged shoulder. "I imagine I was carried away by you. Intoxicating."

So was the tongue sliding up my neck to my ears and down my face to my oh-so sensitive lips.

Oh, my…

What had I been thinking about?

Bite marks. Oh, yes. 02.

"What shall we do about 02?" I half meant this as a private musing, but, there, I'd said it aloud.

Zechs suspended his laving exercises. Drat. "02? Oh, the stunning black horse, Duo? Nothing."

When I opened my eyes, his were staring directly into mine, as if he were trying to read my intentions. I don't know what I gave away, nothing intentional to lead him to his next inquiry.

"Unless you are suggesting a threesome some afternoon, and if you are, and I'm not saying I'm completely unopposed, I do not believe his lover would allow any such contact."

Not that! I did not want to share Zechs or my climb up the chain of command with 02! "No! Not at all." Especially not Zechs!

"I see."

"I don't think you do. It's bad enough that he thinks you are some evil vampire out to seduce us all to the dark side—"

"Well—"

"And that you humor him so!"

"He has a delightful imagination."

I snorted. I had an active imagination, too! I snorted again and turned away, jealousy gripping my jaw shut.

"And his opinion holds some sway over Heero." Zechs said as he wrapped his neck over mine, veiling my face in his mane, diaphanous as a spider's web.

I had to assume he understood that what fell into my mouth when my lips parted was mine. I chewed over what he'd said with his offering.

"He's the chink in Heero's armor," I said.

"Or, in time, at some point after Heero has had more experience and 'hardened' to prevent himself from wearing down when used, Duo could provide him some invaluable 'tempering'."

"Tempering? What do you mean?" Was his sexual connotation intentional? Oh, of course it was. Everything Zechs and I discussed had sexual overtones.

"It's that second heating process which reduces the hardness a little but toughens the material. It also significantly reduces the brittleness of the material so that it does not break easily. The whole process is called 'hardening and tempering' as it applies to blade making, but it has other applications."

This wasn't the direction I wanted to take our conversation. "I don't care to improve Heero's leadership prowess. I want you to replace him!" I was fairly certain that's what I wanted.

But not fully certain…

"Me?"

"Yes! You can challenge Heero for top spot in the herd."

"You misunderstand me. I- I was once entrusted with leadership… my troops were all destroyed."

"That was the fault of the humans. You surely realize that?"

"Was it? I could have veered in another direction, changed course, led my following away from the firestorm and certain death."

"A cowardly action, and disloyal. For all you know, such an action might have left many more in the lurch, resulting in many, many more deaths."

"Anything is possible. You are a good balm for my suffering soul, my golden dragon lover."

And I can be more! "So, you see how your experience can be of great consequence to the herd, how you ought to test 01 to determine the best leader."

"Oh, my darling, high-spirited, social climber."

"I'm not… that! Not exactly. You make it sound so negative."

"Only if you are unscrupulous," he said, "or if you make trouble simply to feel more important."

"It's not that at all! In a society where class and status are clearly defined, upward mobility can be deemed a negative thing, I suppose, if it weakens the band, but how I was instructed, it was more of a virtue. We don't 'rise above our station' in a meritocracy, where we have achieved our positions based on our achievements, we 'overcome the circumstances of our birth.'"

"Hmmm." He hummed in a most thoughtful and provocative way. "We aren't upstarts and _parvenus_, we are success stories then?"

"Yes."

"Of course social climbing, like anything, can be done unscrupulously."

"I would do no dishonorable act to achieve a goal." Not intentionally. Accidents did happen, however.

"No? Well, I'm glad to hear that. There really is no time to resolve issues with Duo. And, yes, Heero has to be strong and focused to be a good leader but, in truth, does it really matter?"

"Certainly! We must be represented by a strong leader when we face down the Mustangs!"

"True, he needs to be on form to negotiate with the wild horses, but I imagine that Quatre will do most of the talking there? I understand he's a fine negotiator."

"Possibly—" Was Heero so important then? I hadn't seen that far ahead. I could see my inferiority before one as wise and experienced as Zechs. I am lower than the dust beneath his coal-black, polished hooves-

"Now, go beyond your instincts and think about it, Wufei, my darling. He's not even going to be here in the near future."

"So, after 01 is secured with the Mustangs, we will be without a leader—and you simply step in and fill the void?"

"Conceptually. A temporary arrangement that may suit the circumstances."

Yes, that would work just as well, until he returned. _If_ he returned. If. There was no "if". But then… Zechs' judgment was based incomplete information. I'd seen 01 facing the Mustangs. Our leader had been impressive.

"It is my belief that 01 is determined enough to survive, and if he is alive, he'll come back to 02." I didn't see an easy route to the top.

"Conjecture and speculation so farfetched… this is giving me a headache. Can we consider the subject closed for now and speak of more pressing things?"

"Fine. What did you have in mind?"

He pressed his physical 'need" to my hind quarters. "Do you _mind _so very much being the lover of a vampire horse?"

"Not when it's you." But before we got to snuggling again, I had a duty to perform. I was not going be _unscrupulous_ in my methods. I would warn 02 first, alert him to an impending change, even if it might be slightly askew of the truth.

I excused myself as gracefully as possible, promising to return, to meet Zechs back in his stall in a short time, and then set out to speak to 02. I hoped to find him alone in his stall, and as luck would have it, I did.

He was conversing with 04's cat, or thought he was.

"Pathetic. Preying on the poor animal's superstitious nature. It's ridiculous what you ask of that animal, or think you are asking. You aren't communicating."

"Goldie, I'm recruiting watchdogs, er, watchcats. Go away."

"Then you wouldn't want to know what he was saying back to you—"

"I'll survive."

"I know what you are doing with all your spying, and you know my low opinion of it, but Trowa explained the importance of freeing up your… time, and, so, I agreed to do my part and keep Zechs under surveillance at all times."

"Uh, huh. Whatta huge sacrifice. I already decided you were a goner, fallen under the villain's spell, after seeing you get speared." He said this while sneaking peeks at my neck.

"Stop that!" I ignored his crudity and turned to hide the "love bite" Zechs had given me when he'd held me in place on mounting. "I said I'd watch him and I will. I'm a horse of honor, which brings me to my point-"

"You do that, but just in case you sleep at night, I want Percy here in on the game."

"Whatever. My purpose in coming here—"

"There! I saw a bite. I found proof! The attack of the vampire!"

"It's nothing of the sort! I saw the same mark on you from when oh-one, ah, when Heero," I corrected, "attempted to—"

He trampled my words into oblivion. "Don'tcha think you and him are moving a heap too fast? Geez, Goldie, he just got here!"

"Don't you think you are moving too slow?" I countered.

Zechs had suggested that we'd moved too soon. I hated that they might be right in some way I was unaware of, making me testy. We tried to stare down one another, but matching stubborn streaks got us nowhere.

"It's not your business," he said.

I blew out my held breath, sending straw bits fluttering, some catching in Percy's fur, who then hissed at the indignity. "You are correct. Our private behavior should remain so, even when we have so little actual seclusion. No one asked you to storm in on us."

"I didn't mean to! I was looking for any of you, Sunshine in particular."

04, that stupid, well-meaning, little schemer of a horse! I tried to conceal a flicker of worry and wide-eyed surprise that 02 might have figured out his ploy—not that I agreed to participate. I did not perform intimate acts for spectators. That was 04's privilege. I especially wasn't going to train 02 and 01.

"That wasn't some setup scheme of our little Sunshine's trying to get me in the _mood_ or some such crazy notion of his?"

"I cannot speak for the others, but Zechs and I… it was completely unplanned."

"Okay, I'd believe that. You'd never want an audience. Still, with Spot and Sunshine going at it a stall away? A coincidence?"

"Yes." I stomped my foot and arched my neck to show him I was serious. "They came in after us. There wasn't a thing I could do about it, or I would have!"

"Okay, sorry then."

"Forgiven. I'm… sorry also for offending you with our-"

"—Don't say it! It didn't offend me, just surprised me."

Anyone could tell he was uncomfortable and wanted the conversation to end as he quick-stepped around me. Oh, no. I wasn't finished with him. I had more to say and blocked his path. "However—"

He stopped short of running me down. "Huh?"

"In your case, what upsets Heero affects us all."

"Not this song and dance again. He's fine—"

"No he's not. He's tense and distracted. He's worried about that human girl stealing him away. He's worried about what that might do to you, his departure. He's worried about Quatre's plan failing because the Mustangs refuse to shelter him or lie about it. He's worried sick and he needs you to reassure him of his leadership role."

"We all do that. And he's not gonna explode just because we don't get it on like you guys do."

"Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Spell away to your heart's content. I can't read."

Frustration! "Don't be a wise guy."

He mumbled something about time to go and I knew I hadn't much more time before he'd start kicking.

"If he can't top you and someone else does, that puts him in a bad position, organizationally speaking," I said.

"Someone else does-? Who'd try a stunt like that?"

"Do you really want to find out?"

"NO!"

This time I stepped aside and walked away. "Think about it. You haven't much time. Our herd has to have the hierarchy sorted out as soon as possible to operate efficiently."

I caught sight of a white tail sweeping the floor at the end of the stalls, and headed that way, drawn by need and desire. I had warned Duo and my conscience was clear.

**(o) Duo's POV**

_Think _about it? Think about who'd challenge my Heero by _mounting me_?

The Count, obviously. Ugh. That was not something to think about. Not now. Not me. I didn't want anything to change. I liked things as they were. Why did Howard have to bring in a vampire horse to mess with our happy herd?

Heero roused me from my dark thoughts with a rap at the stall wall separating us.

I wanted him near, but I didn't want more "discussion" of the topic du jour. Everyone could just stay celled up tonight.

His head must have been out the outdoor window and turned my way; I could hear him clearly. "Duo, we're going out early, all of us, to find the Mustangs. We must know if they will harbor me or not."

"Gotcha. Early A. M."

He said no more, so he must have read my mood. Good. I'd been projecting "leave me alone" pretty plainly.

Ugh.

Would the night never end? Percy slipped in to wade through a puddle of my tail hair. After snarling it into a nest, I heard his purr settle in.

"Hey! You can't sleep! You gotta watch the big white horse!" I lugged myself from the floor to my feet, and tipped him over.

"Rawr!"

"Don't be such a wimpy kitten! Yeah, yeah, well, no sleep for me either. Now git!"

Could a cat move more slowly?

I didn't think he'd watch The Count for nocturnal nastiness, so I stayed alert. I don't think I dozed at all.

The hint of dawn tinted the haze rising off the pasture the color of Sunshine's mane. A bird twittered. A crow called and a cacophony answered. Time to boogie.

I dispatched latches with ease; the electric locks had never been fixed, and freed my fellow stable mates: Heero, then Spot-Sunshine, Goldie, and then The Count. His tail had the same rumpled, knotted, Percy-do as mine, so I guessed the cat had done his guard duty after all.

"Help me with ribbons, Trowa!" Ah, Sunshine was ready to carry out his plans.

I could feel a wind as the big spotted horse changed directions from checking out the rose bushes with me to assisting his pretty stall-buddy.

"Sure, but who'll keep Duo from eating every rose he finds?"

Spot! Hey!

"I will," came a rough and ready voice from over my shoulder.

As long as it was Heero, okay. He held branches and I nipped until we had a load of stems.

Spot carried out a cloth scrap. "Beautiful says to wrap them in this."

"An oats sack?" Heero asked, not that it sounded as if he was questioning ole Spot. It looked to me as if he was more interested in nuzzling it open to nibble the remaining contents. Not that there were any. "Empty."

"Sorry." Spot didn't sound any too sorry, though.

The pointy ends slipped inside the bag and the loose ties, I discovered, pulled tight to secure the necks and provide a carrying handle. The flowers dangled tantalizingly below my chin. They smelled so good.

"Don't drool on them and spoil them."

Damn that spotted clown anyway! If I opened my mouth to comment, I'd drop them.

The Count and Goldie stood waiting, a bit aloof from the rest of us. Too bad for them.

Sunshine raced past, pastel ribbons streaming by. "Here, everyone! Take some!"

"I'll look silly," was Goldie's protest.

"You'll look—"

I hoped The Count wouldn't say "distinguished" or I'd drop the flowers.

"—enticing carrying those. The other horses will be intrigued."

Yeah, which got them all started discussing the Mustangs, the hierarchy, which fascinated The Count and Heero and bored me to tears.

So now I was drooling and crying, well, dripping goo. With the roses and ribbons hopefully we'd be able to bribe the Mustangs into sheltering Heero for a short time. I hoped a short time, but who knew how long a human like Relena would look for him? How would we know for sure Heero's be forgotten by her?

I had to stop re-thinking the problem or I'd go nuts, and blow it. We had a plan. It had sounded good at the time and probably was. We'd deal with issues as they arose. For all I knew we wouldn't even find the wild horses again.

All this worrying got me to the first gate.

I had to drop the flowers to get us past, but they didn't look worse for wear and we trotted onwards and upwards across the doctor's land to the next gate. All the way, Spot timed our distances—how long it took us to walk to the far fences and pass through easy gates. Between him and Sunshine there was a timetable now.

Spot shook the forelock out of his eyes. "We can pony up and walk that faster, if we need to."

"Like if someone changes the gate locks on us," I said, watching as The Count studied the last barrier.

Then he sniffed at the fence, examining the wires and coming to the obvious conclusion. "Electrified."

"You _think_?" I pawed at the rocks rather than chewing the rose blossoms. "That's why we've been jumping hurdles."

"Mmm, how far does it extend?"

"I don't know. Why dontcha take a walk thatta way and see." It would take him over a cliff eventually.

"Duo!" Heero snorted at me and then kicked at my hooves, warning me not to provoke the big, bad white horse.

"I don't see the wires ending," Spot put in and then shook out his beaded mane, yeah, beads with the braids. His human adored him, I guess. "I smell them. Not far away."

He meant the wild horses.

"Forget it, Zechs. It goes on for as far as we can see. We can all jump the fence," Heero said. "Let's just go and get this over with."

I agreed and took a running start. I'd either make it or—not. I flew over it like a crow and landed like a…horse.

Sunshine cheerfully passed the roses through the wires. "Wish me luck?"

"You bet. Show'em how you fly."

He made it, too, with ribbons fluttering and with room to spare. Spot's long legs sailed over right behind him.

Goldie jumped next and may have made it spark; either that, or he just glittered in the sun too much. The Count followed him as if he was hopping a rabbit hole. Heero, last, cleared the fence with grace and room to spare.

"All right. Let's find the Mustangs," Heero said.

Spot muttered his counting stuff and we paced ourselves, moving along with the rising sun, when he reared up with a whinny.

"What's wrong, Trowa?" Heero demanded.

"Big cats."

**Horse notes:**

A Good Leader

The social dynamics holds the horse bands together, and each individual knows his or her place in the order. Rules of band behavior are carefully followed. Punishment to a young animal is swift; usually just a head movement with ears laid back or a nip or gentle kick is sufficient to correct the error. When an older horse breaks the rules of the herd, it is rejected and vulnerable to predators, which is very dangerous. Rejection is undesirable and, so, teaches horses to be submissive and dependent upon leaders for survival and food.

Once the pecking order is established, the herd gets along peacefully. However, it is very normal and natural for every horse to periodically challenge others for its place in the herd. This insures that the herd is led by the most worthy leader at all times.

A good leader is fair, consistent and effective. Most lead horses are assertive but not overly aggressive, dominant but not mean. Most horses don't actually want the alpha position. They would rather follow another horse. Horses want someone to lead but the leader must be worthy. If that horse is not worthy they will take over.


	18. Chapter 18

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for all the edits and re-edits and critical eye this chapter really needed- and to Snowdragon for all the horse-fact checking I couldn't do without.

**Chapter Eighteen— **

**Keep Your Friends Close and Your Enemies Closer**

**(o) Heero's POV**

"Cougars? Where?"

Trowa sniffed the air, his neck stretched long and high. "Not close. Not any more. They passed this way."

"Understood. Stay alert, everyone."

"Roger!" Duo called out.

I didn't understand the significance of the name, but it meant concurrence. He'd told me it did before.

It was my duty to trail the others, on the lookout for trouble. Wufei and Zechs led the way, mindful of dangerous holes, snakes, or snagging wires, and Quatre and Trowa fell in between, ever watchful and listening for signs of danger. Duo walked with Quatre, or sometimes he chose to join me. I liked when he chose to walk with me.

But he didn't today. I never knew how difficult it was to balance the role of leader with that of lover and friend.

I wasn't doing a particularly good job of either, or any of the roles. For proof, I had only to look at the horse who'd stolen my heart. Duo hadn't spoken to me or touched me intimately all morning.

And I know he didn't know how much it hurt me. I know Quatre was wrong and I was right; he loved me like a brother. And that was it. That was all it probably would ever be and I'd messed up, tried to push him, and now-

My foul-ups didn't stop there. I'd had an argument with Quatre over how to proceed with the Mustangs, and, in reaction, Trowa had become more introverted than ever.

Even Wufei, with whom I thought I shared a mutual admiration, seemed confrontational from the outset, obviously his reaction to my equivocation when dealing with Duo. I needed to set things straight with my love, and soon.

Only the newest of the band, Zechs, acted the same toward me as the day before. He dropped back and let Wufei trot ahead so that he and I could discuss the Mustang band and their pecking order. This visit to the wild herd was just a preliminary run to see if the band would take me in and hide me. I valued Quatre's tactful approach, but I wasn't sure it would impress the likes of the lead mare and the alpha stallion.

And then Zechs made an unusual suggestion worth deliberation. I didn't think Duo would like it. No, that wasn't exactly right. I was sure he'd wouldn't like it.

"I'll consider that, Zechs. If Quatre's plea doesn't work, yours will be our fall back."

"As long as you see it as only temporary," he insisted. "I have no ulterior motives."

"No? You have strong leadership qualities, why not test mine?"

"Too much work," he said with a toothy grimace, the one that spooked Duo so badly. "I'm a lazy ass of a horse when you get down to it."

"Thanks for the insight, and the honesty. You didn't have to let me in on your plan."

"I'm not completely dishonorable, as I've been recently reminded, but more than that, I'd like to live up to someone else's expectations of me."

Wufei? He wanted to impress _Wufei._ Taking over my herd would impress Wufei. Would giving it up the moment I returned impress him as much? Doubtful. And if I didn't return, the herd would be stable with a leader already in place. Would the others thank us? Duo might prefer the opportunity to step up to the job, young as he was. Unlikely, but he should have the opportunity. I should warn him about what Zechs' might do.

"Don't tell the others, though," Zechs cautioned me. "We want them to react naturally."

Especially Duo, I filled in. "Tell him later." You _know _who.

"I shall. I promise."

Duo made fast work of the locks and jumped the electric fence beautifully. They all cleared the jump. All that practice had served us well.

This threat of a big cat attack could ruin our outing. I would not allow us to risk a life for a chance at my taking refuge with the Mustangs to avoid being taken away by Miss Relena. Never. My life was not that important under any circumstances, but I'd promised Duo not to leave him. I meant to keep that promise.

"We keep going." No turning back. I hoped I chosen well and wasn't leading our band into a bloodbath. No one wanted to be backing the wrong horse when it came to survival.

I heard the shrill whinny of the lookout and knew our arrival wouldn't be a secret to the band of wild horses.

"No sneaking up on these bastards," Duo said after answering the other horse with an earsplitting neigh of his own.

As before we were encircled by the curious mares, the leader, Une, moving to face off with me.

"You must be looking for trouble coming back here!" she called out.

"Looking? We _found _you," Duo replied before I could greet her.

Then Trowa bumped me and I tore my attention off Une and Duo to learn what the next problem would be.

"Hill top," he said, indicating the direction with his nose. "Stands out, doesn't he?"

"I see." The Alpha stallion with his fine, arched neck and powerful shoulders paraded back and forth, putting on a show.

"You're dealing with me!" The lead mare whinnied, which rallied the other mares, smothering us with their closeness.

"He's not a Mustang like the others," Quatre pointed out needlessly. We all knew that the first time we saw him, and fought him. "In fact, half of them look to be war refugees."

"No—"

Zechs interrupted me, taking Duo's place at my side. "Keen observation. No, he's a Hanoverian war horse of illustrious, excellent ancestry."

How could Zechs know that, unless he knew him very well? I shot Zechs a sharp look, demanding to know. "You're on familiar terms with him?"

Wufei, standing on his far side, coughed himself into a fit of some sort.

"I served under him in the military; er, that is, I _reported _to him. I thought he had died."

"Is this going to be a problem?" I needed to know.

Wufei wheezed. "No, I'm fine."

"I meant—" But Zechs knew I'd been asking about his past relationship. It might even be too late to leave. I didn't need more problems. We'd agreed to stick together, not let the mares drag everyone off, leaving one or two vulnerable to attack by the lead animals. Quatre and Trowa were to distract the mares. Duo, Wufei, and Zechs were to stick with me.

I was already committed to my course of action. I couldn't manage a traitorous Zechs, plus Une and Treize all at the same time. Unless we turned tail and left immediately, it was too late to change horses in the middle of the stream.

Zechs shook his mane. "I don't know."

He turned his attention to Wufei. The two carried on a whispered conversation I wanted to be privy to.

A disturbance with the mares cut our exchange short. As planned, Quatre had begun distributing the ribbons to a few of the mares, Trowa assisting, passing a few at a time.

Good. I hoped that would work.

But where had Duo gone off to? Then I spotted him in the thick of things. Duo's voice carried clearly over the snorting and whinnies of the gathering horses. "-Why am I not surprised?" *

"Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I can't have as many as the next horse! And the name's Hilde, in case you forgot." The generous mouthful of ribbons made her look silly and sound sillier.

"Forget a bigmouth like you? Heh!" Duo stood with legs wide apart, doing what I considered to be a good job of talking around his mouthful of roses.

Trowa stepped in to help separate them and let Quatre free up a few more strands. "Don't get your backs up! Unless you're blind as bats, you can see if you take a mouthful, that there's not enough to go around!"

A tug of war ensued.

"Let go!" Duo growled. "You got one wound around your neck. It could strangle you if you pull any harder!"

Hilde stomped her hooves. "I'm prepared to die at any time!"*

Duo kicked her sides. "You damn idiot!"*

He must have made contact, because she let out a whinny and dropped all the ribbons, "I _thought_ you'd say that!"*

More sounds of a shoving contest. Rough and tumble among friends was one thing, but these feral horses were unknowns. We'd come away injured before.

_I was the only one allowed to leave bite marks on my Duo! _"Get away from him!"

The little mare jumped at my tone of voice, although I think Duo just snorted at me in an annoyed way, as much as to tell me he could handle her fine without my help.

What did he expect me to do? I would not just let him get beat up, but if I asserted myself on his behalf, he resented it! What was a lead horse _supposed_ to do?

"Stop fussing and take one so the rest of us can have a chance!" said one mare, chastising the little dark one.

That sounded like one level-headed piece of advice, coming from one of the wild horses, so I looked around and found the source, sidling up alongside Wufei. He kept trying to shadow Zechs, whose attention seemed riveted to the horse on the hill.

"My name's Sally."

Wufei attempted to ignore her completely, but she seemed determined to reel him in. "Mind telling me a little about that handsome white stud you brought in?"*

"W-who?"

Zechs obviously, I answered silently.

Wufei possibly figured it out on his own, since he next snapped, "It is no business of yours."

Trowa bumped into me and I could see he was getting out of the way of a mare advancing on him.

"Well, hello. You're cute, and I'm not just saying that!*"

Trowa wheezed something about being a "goner" and danced the other way, trampling ribbons underfoot, and nearly Quatre with them, but the mare pursued him. She seemed persistent!

"You remember me, don't you? Catherine? We met before."

"Ah, no."

"You didn't even think about us horses you left behind?"*

Trowa looked about wide-eyed and ready to run at my word. I felt sorry for him, but he should have known better than to engage in any conversation with these cagey females.

I meant to point out how well Quatre was handling the mares, in spite of looking so out of place with that soft coloring of his and sparkling with ribbons. In the morning light, Duo's name for him, "Sunshine", wasn't as fitting as Trowa's, "Beautiful."

"See how Quatre's just demonstrating the ribbons and not—" I began to say "and not getting into trouble this time," but caught myself.

The light-colored mare buffeted Quatre with her tail. Anyone could see how far more attractive he was than she. And she was trying to start trouble for him. So far he'd avoided any real contact.

"She's the crowbait that kicked up a row and bit him before. Name of... Dopey- or something like that," Trowa said, and took off to protect his lover.

"Dopey" suddenly reared up, crying, "Hurry up and start a war!"*

"I-I don't want a war, miss," the beautiful yellow horse declared. "We're not here to start one. I'll only fight to help the others and only if I have no other choice!"*

"Remember my name, you fool; it's Dorothy (not Dopey?). You say you fight for the good of others... but have they done anything for you?"*

"I'm not fighting because I want something in return."*

I had heard enough. We were making no headway befriending the band. "Quatre, give up. Let's go."

"Oh, no! There's hardly any chance of success. B-but it's better than doing nothing!"*

"But—" A painful jolt ran through my leg, and I turned back my attention to the lead mare. She raised a ragged hoof, preparing to strike out at me again. I looked down at my own, recently manicured and polished ones. The difference was marked and that distinction alone could be excuse enough for her to be bitter and angry.

"You lied," she said, menacingly. "You've come back bringing another fighter with you to challenge our Alpha stallion."

And there I was, defending my position again. I was better at offense. "You haven't given us a chance to explain why we've come." I cast about for Quatre. I wanted the lead mare to listen to his diplomatic explanation, not my frank one. He was far more empathic than I. "I need to hide—"

Instead, Zechs pushed his agenda. Not the order of events I wanted to happen!

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Zechs-" He bore right into her personal space.

"I'm Lady Une. I've already chosen my mate!"

"As is your due, my Lady. My apologies for any misunderstanding here today. May I clarify my position? I'm really not interested in accumulating mares. We come here on other business. I'd like to speak to… him. We are old…friends."

All eyes rose to watch the Alpha charging down the hill toward us. Was he favoring one leg the slightest amount, I wondered? A rock trapped in the soft part of a foot could be painful, and these horses had no grooms or farriers at hand to provide them relief.

"You _know _our Alpha? You only just arrived! Open up, Zechs. You're hiding far too many s-secrets-s."* Une actually hissed the last word then whipped around to address her mares. "Prepare to run these trespassers off our territory!"

"Here, this is what the streamers I brought are for!" Quatre said, deftly turning the attention onto himself.

In a heartbeat, he'd turned the mood around. All eyes were on him as he put on an act with very pretty dancing, ribbons snapping in the air, mane and tail flying about. Trowa joined him doing his more athletic stunts.

The mares looked awed then delighted. Amazingly, they began to fling their ribbons in the air, imitating the two stallions. Hilde got it into her head to run with hers, the ribbons fluttering, which drew a following.

I'd never seen anything like it. Une hadn't either, I guessed, by the way her mouth just hung open in wonder, or trepidation. Her mares appeared just as out of her control as my stallions.

Not that all mine were out of control. Duo, remarkably, chose to follow directions and not only join me, but glue himself to my side. "Showtime," he said with an exciting edge to his tone.

"Yes." Well put, my love. I noticed his empty mouth. He'd lost the roses. I guessed that the mares had eaten them all. Too bad.

With only the two Mustang leaders to contend with, we'd have a possible opening, a chance to talk them into harboring me—safely. From the start, when Quatre had first laid out his idea, the drawback to the plan had been assuring my safety. Alone, without some guarantee, I couldn't keep them from killing me. Quatre _felt_ Une and the stallion leader would keep their promises as a code of honor.

I was totally relying on his special horse sense. Something Duo had said came to mind now and made me feel better. "_Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." ( ~W.C. Fields, actually)_

Trowa had noted that there is just as much empathy as ever, but the horses have most of it. At least, Quatre did. I'd hoped for something more tangible, and now I also wished Quatre could be in two places at once; I wasn't confident in my oral skills.

The Alpha stallion arrived in a cloud of dust, and marched right past me with a fractional nod, completely ignoring Wufei and Duo. But not Zechs. He acted as if he recognized him, which he probably did since Zechs appeared to know him.

Zechs called out to the other stallion. "Treize!"

"Milliardo—"

_Who?_

Zechs winced. "That name... please don't,"* he muttered in response.

"What is the matter? A dark shadow seems to follow us where ever we go."*

"I'm called Zechs now. A short, less elaborate appellation, more fitting for what I've become."

"Zechs. Less flamboyant, yes, for, shall we say, a warrior of leisure?"

Duo stuck his nose in my ear, which under different circumstances would have been the start of something nice, but now out of reflex drew back, stopping only when he whispered.

"See the gash on Treize's leg? Keeps it turned away all the time. Run-in with a cat, maybe?"

I hadn't noticed the cut, but I had noted the faint limp. "Tell Trowa. Get him over here. Maybe we have another bargaining chip."

But Trowa was already in transit, Quatre trailing him and a couple of ribbons clinging to his tightly braided mane. The mares remained occupied with the rest of the toys.

Duo joined the pair, lips moving. Straining to hear didn't help; I couldn't catch what Duo was saying over Zechs' voice.

"Warrior of leisure. You could call me that. It suits you, too. Out here. Far from the fray and no longer a human tool."

I thought Treize was about to negate that, but he shifted the weight on his feet and nodded silently instead.

Zechs touched noses with the older stallion. "You once said that there was nothing more beautiful than a warrior with no distractions. One could say he is the closest thing to God."* When he shook his entire head, ruffling his attractive mane, I swore he winked. If his intention were to appear flirtatious, it worked. "Unless you wish to grant me my death and place me on the direct path to the Almighty Horse Lord?"

"Begging for compliments, are we? You are looking very beautiful, old friend. And you know… I would never kill the one person who understood me."*

"I thought I did, but," Zechs whipped his tail about, and not just to disperse annoying flies, and looked into the distance. He couldn't hide all his agitation. "The last I saw you was in battle. I thought you'd died. And now, here you are."

Wufei was doing a poor job of hiding his feelings. He was literally shaking. Whether with fear or anger, I couldn't tell, probably both. I saw how he clearly adored Zechs, and yet he hadn't had time to learn much about him. I didn't think he was a vampire, but I could feel the darkness in his voice, the suggestion of violence and pain wrapped in shadows, which Duo might interpret his own way. And if I could feel the raw passion in the meeting of these two old war companions, Wufei probably felt much, much more. No wonder Wufei looked distressed.

"Keep your head clear," I warned him. "Things are rarely what they seem and there's a purpose behind his madness." _I hoped._

Wufei set his mouth in a grim line and relaxed his stance a hair. _Better._

"The same could be said of you," the Alpha said. "Mine is a story fraught with sorrow, and not much of it can I recall anymore. I believe many shell-shocked horses from the wars have been collected and given refuge on this land. Ours is not the only group banded together. But, what brings you here? You weren't with this merry group of stallions when they visited us before."

"A fortunate purchase." Zechs displayed his luxurious tail again, using it to swat at a few irritating flies. He appeared calm and unconcerned, whether he was or not.

"Fortunate? That sounds as if you're contented with your current life." The Alpha stallion tossed back the curl of forelock which persisted in falling into his eyes. "Are you?"

"I have the opportunity to find peace of mind." He said, all the while moving further from Wufei and pressing into my side.

I stepped back, giving Zechs, the larger horse, room to move, a thoughtful gesture on my part. I didn't have to do it. He should have deferred space to me.

Then he said. "I was hoping to convince the lead horse to accept Heero into the herd for… personal reasons."

No! I wanted Quatre to negotiate the trade. Me – in return for medical aid!

"Not just _his _reasons," Quatre put in. He sounded a little desperate to me, but I was happy to hear _his_ voice regain negotiations.

Now I noticed how Zechs had purposely distanced himself from Wufei, wedging himself in tightly next to me and driving me forward away from Duo. It should have been a clue. I should have expected him to take over and use his plan before Quatre had had a chance to try talking.

Wufei hadn't budged. He hadn't even blinked an eye after Zechs' "personal reasons" comment. Then the corner of his lips curled upwards, just the tiniest amount. I shouldn't really have expected Wufei to be surprised at this turn of events. He and Zechs had probably planned the takeover. _Mock_ takeover. In theory. This would be a temporary arrangement. That had been the plan Zechs had suggested to me.

Meanwhile, Treize was evaluating me, looking me over head to foot. "Heero—"

A rustling took place behind me and I caught a glimpse of Trowa transferring the intact roses to Duo. They must have hidden them away for safe-keeping. Good job.

"So, Treize? These are for you. From us. Kinda a gift. No hard feelings from the last visit, you know?"

"Roses? I haven't tasted… munch… roses in ages. Thank _you._"

I recognized a predatory gleam and nearly lashed out at the Alpha stallion. Duo was mine!

"And such a delicious delivery pony." Treize's eyes darkened, raking Duo over from tip to tail, lingering near the tail.

Duo snorted at the bigger stallion. "I'm not a pony! I'm _all_ horse!"

"I'm _sure_ you are." His eyes flashed with interest. "I know a Morgan by his proud carriage, graceful neck, and distinctive head with such wonderfully expressive eyes. Deep bodied and compact, and with those enticing, strongly muscled quarters."

"Those _quarters_ are off limits!" Duo countered. "No rumpus rompous with me, your honor!"

For the first time, I liked hearing him say that, because he wasn't saying it to me. And I loved his picture of defiance, feet apart, knees locked, head up.

"Correct," I said, wanting to very much to kick in the leader's face, but restraining myself. That wouldn't help our shaky alliance. Still, I couldn't help the flare of my nostrils and arch of my neck. I needed to protect my Duo!

"I see, Milliar-, pardon me, I meant to stop calling you that and use your new name, _Zechs._ You want the leader out of the way and reap all the benefits, like this charming stallion, a _dark horse_ in all contexts. I can see you want the little spitfire for yourself, you cagy devil you."

_No! Definitely no sharing Duo!_

"Watch your back, though, the little golden stallion doesn't look any too pleased to share you."

I didn't turn to see what Wufei was doing. I was counting on him to leash in his temper and keep his mouth shut. "No fighting with the Alpha, no matter how much he baits you," had been my orders. _Would he obey?_

Duo drew back all the attention his way, though. "Hey!" Duo cried out. "I'm not a bargaining chip!"

"He's not," I said.

"We haven't even concluded our trade negotiations," Treize smoothly reminded me. "So far, it appears to be one sided, with you at the advantage. And for all I know, letting you in my herd sets a dangerous precedence. You could be a Trojan Horse and attempt to destroy our band from within."

"He's not Trojan!" Duo said defiantly. "He's from Sanc and he's not gonna hurt nothin' of yours if you leave him be."

I didn't like the sound of those destructive Trojan horses either, and wanted to comment on my own behalf, when Une cleared her throat.

In a very low voice she told Treize, "I can see how you can use Heero to run out some troublesome rising stars and then dispose of him later."

I didn't like that train of thought. Nor did Duo.

Nor did Quatre, who piped up with, "We can offer you medical services! At least we can bring supplies."

"Without skilled humans to apply them, those potions are of no use to us," Une said with a hostile lip curl.

"In that case, we can rid you of the cougar problem." That was Trowa speaking for the first time. "It would make taking Heero into hiding more to your liking, wouldn't it?"

"You certainly know my tastes: roses, lovely horses, and, yes, fewer big cats around make the trade far more palatable." Treize wouldn't take that offer at face value, I knew, though, so I wasn't surprised to hear him say, "That's a tall order to carry out, the killing of cats. How is it that you think you can do it?"

"I know cats, worked with bigger ones than these in the circus. They have weaknesses you can take advantage of, if you can fight your instinct to flee."

"I leave the details to you then, and the danger."

"Then you'll hide me?"

"_Hide_ you? I don't know if I can. You don't look like a horse who has had to endure the hardships of surviving in the wild."

"We'll take care of disguising him. We know how!" Quatre said with a touch of excitement.

I felt some of that thrill of victory, too. It seemed we had succeeded, even if the plan had taken a different direction for a time.

"How clever you all are! Zechs, you'll have your work cut out for you managing that band of sharp stallions. Very well, I agree to take this fine stallion, Heero, and allow him concealment within our band. Consider this a gesture of civility towards Milliardo," Treize said the old name pointedly, I guessed. "Remember this for the future; a war with no civility only gives rise to massacre."*

_Is that so?_ Are wars with civility more amiable and pleasant than those where bad manners rule?

"What a load of crap," I heard Duo mutter beneath his breath. "That one's seen one too many battles and has gone bonkers."

I grunted in agreement. _How can a war be civil?_

"We wish no hostilities in the future," Zechs assured him. "We will return very soon to leave Heero in proper disguise in your custody."

"And to deal with the big cats." Treize wasn't going to let us forget that.

And our meeting was over. We'd been gone too long from our own pasture as it was. We didn't need to worry the humans and have them step up security before he'd concluded our plan.

We were, hopefully, just out of earshot of the wild horses when Duo exploded. I never knew what to expect of him. He tended to defy logic, as I saw it.

"I told you! I TOLD you to watch out, but did anybody listen? Did anybody do anything but me? Noooooooo! The _vampire_ is taking over the herd. Got that? And you, Heero, fearless leader, soon to be _in abstentia_- Quatre told me that's the term for it- just LET HIM DO IT!"

"Oh, Lord of all Horses, I thought he'd let that vampire thing run its course," Wufei griped.

"You shut up!" I snapped in Wufei's direction. "Duo, I didn't _let_ him. I didn't know what he was up to until he just before he did it."

And just as the whinny left my lips, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glance of Zechs tossing his tail in the golden, affronted-looking face. I wasn't sure that the promise of hair to chomp would sufficiently distract his snippy stall friend, but there he was, leading Wufei away. One less horse to interfere.

Duo's snort brought my attention fully back to him. "Yeah, sure. _You_ never seem know what's really in his head. But _I _do."

"It's only temporary," Quatre said, weakly, mind you.

I could see Trowa nudging him away. "C'mon, Beautiful, let's skedaddle."

Duo snorted again and tossed his mane. "You ain't convincing me, Sunshine. How do we _know _that _Relena_ person's gonna give up on finding 'Ro any time soon? Heero might be hiding out for…a-"

I think he was casting about for Trowa to supply a likely number, but he and Quatre were too far away.

"Well… a long time. I know _I'm_ not taking orders from _him_. Not a vampire. I'll fight him to the death first, which would make me one of them. You want that to happen? Duo, God of Death! Sucking the life outta all my friends! Creature of the night! Consorting with…with… cats and bats and rats and…"

He was all worked up now. "Duo, enough." I wanted to take this to his stall and talk him out of his rage.

"No 'Duoing' me this time! I'm pissed **big** time…at Zechs and especially at you for letting it happen. Doesn't anyone listen to me and all my warnings?"

I noticed all the other horses had now parted, leaving a circle of calm around the tornado of chaos.

_My_ snorting mad, hot as hell, little center of chaos.

As appealing as he appeared to me, it was all one-sided. I could tell things were not looking good for Duo and me parting on good terms.

*** Direct quotes or slight paraphrasing from the original series.**

**Horse Notes:**

Avoiding inbreeding.

Occasionally, a two or three year old will still be with their band, but generally the stallion will discourage a young male who is coming of age from consorting with the band. Young females may be driven off by their mothers, or they simply may choose to leave when they come into estrous. They may select or be selected by another stallion who will breed with her and guard her vigilantly from rivals. By encouraging their offspring to leave the band, wild horses avoid inbreeding. Most wild horses are more genetically diverse than any domestic horse breeds. As a result they are better able to deal with changing environments and can resist extreme drought or cold better than domestic breeds.


	19. Chapter 19

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thanks to Waterlily for providing me with the human perspective and to Snowdragon for the equine.

**Chapter Nineteen— Dangerous Improvising **

**(o) Duo's POV**

Home, we were heading back at a breakneck speed to our stable, our home, where we'd be washed and fed and cared for. We were all lucky bastards compared to those Mustangs with the snarled manes and torn hooves.

The sun had blasted away any morning dew long ago, and running parched my throat. Home beckoned like nobody's business. Our little ray of Sunshine flew in the lead, loving the heat and his Spot, keeping pace off to one side. Goldie hung back a length with The Count. Nobody suffered in under the sun like me. None of them were black.

Sunshine had picked this day "to convene with the Mustangs," because he'd been sure it would turn out to be this hot. "When it's very hot, intolerant humans get lazy. They won't want to go searching for us unless we're very, very late getting back."

I hoped he was right about all that. I'd hate to get this uncomfortable for nothing.

So I huffed and puffed and kept up with the best of them, despite being black soak-up-the-heat all over. In fact, I was close to catching up to Goldie, or maybe he was falling back.

"Duo, I'd like to talk, while we have a minute," he said.

"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood." Especially because Heero was pushing the pace, and I had to work harder to keep up than he did, leaving me without the breath to talk and run at the same time.

"I just wanted you to know I was on your side."

"You're _at_ my side. I can see that."

"I meant I thought that was a dirty trick Heero pulled on you- on us."

"Ugh, thanks, I think. I'm sure he had his reasons, though."

"I don't blame you for not… consummating your relationship."

"Don't go there." I didn't get his angle, whether he was trying to be nice—very suspicious—or, more likely, something evil, now that he was a vampire, too.

"Zechs is only doing what he can to help. He will do a good job."

"We'll see."

"He's experienced."

"Sexperienced."

"He'll lead us well."

"Heero's still our leader, and don't you forget it!" I reached deep down and found a source of energy, which I put to good use, leaping a boulder and surging ahead of Goldie the Vamp. Where did he come off, putting Heero down and telling me not to have sex? I'd have sex if I wanted to, which I didn't, but not because of him!

**(o) Trowa's POV**

We ran like wildfire back to the fence, hopped it into our own pasture, and then moseyed over the along the ridge line to make it appear we'd been on that side of the hill out of sight all along, just in case our owners had been looking for us. We scanned one another for stray flowers, scrapes, and other tell-tale objects that might give away where we'd been.

This time we fooled them. From what I overheard Wufei whispering, the farrier was a little peeved to be kept waiting, but that was all. We enjoyed the hosing off. My Beautiful had grown to enjoy it. Well, not Zechs so much. Apparently he hated the feeling of the cold water on his delicate skin. Tough, real tough. Too bad he couldn't talk to humans and request his water warmed. Maybe with some of that scented bath stuff my love likes.

The rest of us appreciated getting off the sweat and dust before a good rub down, hoof trim and polish, drink, and then food.

Once again, Duo and Heero were fighting, or "struggling" as my Beautiful put it.

_Oh, Duo, the messes you get us into_.

With our bellies comfortably full, my love and I were on a mission to fix everything. That's what I'd been told. I had my part to play and my beautiful lover had his much more complicated one—complicated by the fact that he had some gripe with me to cover, too.

"Now, you stay with me and offer your support." Beautiful commanded when he and I found Heero moping in his stall.

"I'm here." _Physically speaking._ Most of my blood was supporting my digestive system, leaving my brain a tad light.

"Heero? We want to talk. And you only have to listen."

"Perfect. I'd like to listen to your retreating hoof beats."

Oooh, moody leader.

"Too bad. I'm talking. We all know you and Duo have a little problem."

"Thanks for sharing that."

"It's quite understandable. He doesn't want to rush into sex and you need to assert your authority—"

"I wish my personal life were private." Heero sounded annoyed and frustrated. I would have been in his place. "We are a band of horses. I'm your leader. Everyone must know their place for the herd to operate efficiently."

"I know. You're right, of course. Our herd instinct is both a curse and a blessing. We need a strong, focused leader, but then… we'd only straightened Wufei out when Zechs arrived and set off Duo with, you know," Beautiful dropped the volume by half, "his vampire fantasies. And you must admit Duo has distracted you, and now you'll be leaving for an unknown length of time."

"And what do you want me to do about that?"

Heero called him on the weak spot right off. What he hadn't expected, I guessed, was my dreadfully smart, lover's prepared reply.

"Secure Duo's affection before you go."

"Make up," I translated so as to be "supportive". I played my part well.

"Yes, thank you, Trowa."

I caught the wink directed at me. Not sure Heero did or cared as Beautiful went on, "He's unsure of you and that makes him vulnerable."

He was right to guess Heero wouldn't like the idea of putting Duo at risk.

Our leader jumped right on that remark. "As in he's at risk to attack? Or- to what?"

"To Zechs."

"Zechs has Wufei," Heero said, snorting in disdain for extra emphasis. "He doesn't want Duo, and Wufei certainly wouldn't share with him Duo."

"I was thinking Duo could be used more as a pawn of Zechs' rather than as an object of affection."

"Go on," Heero looked interested now.

"Zechs' motives are suspicious. I mean, we can sense his dominance and yet, he hasn't challenged you. I don't actually see where he fits in, but if he could seduce Duo or get at you through Duo some other way, that would equate to an attack on you."

"Duo won't turn on me, I know that."

"Not intentionally—"

"Enough about Duo," I said, cutting off Beautiful's speech, but seeing as Heero would just defend him to us, it was time to move on. "Just wind up this business about Zechs. I don't want him left in charge on account of a difficulty with him getting along with the rest of us, Duo in particular."

"He's not going to be," Heero assured us. "He told _me_ he doesn't want to be in charge. It was just for show in front of the other alpha, who must have expected him to want the power of being the lead stallion."

"Yes, I understood that they were old war buddies. I was afraid Wufei was going to pass out for a minute there." Beautiful's eyes filled with concern. "Wufei, well, we all like him and all, but he's not always the nicest horse."

"What are you getting at, Quatre?"

"What if he wants Zechs in the lead position enough to promote bad feelings between you and Duo?"

"Wouldn't work." Heero met Quatre's steady gaze with a riveting one of his own. "Unless you sense something I don't."

"He's worried about Zechs and wants to help him. Desperately. To what lengths he'd go, I can't tell. I only know that the stronger you and Duo bond, the better off we'll be once you leave."

"And when you do, who's left in charge, is what I want to know." Nothing mattered more, to me, than to get that settled with the herd. "According to plan, it would be Duo, but now is that all changed?"

"Nothing's changed. It's to be Duo, he's number two. But I want the two of you to advise him and give him the benefit of your experience."

"Will do." I liked that idea, it meant my love would have lots of input and he was really clever.

"We make a good team," Beautiful said. "If you are right about Zechs not wanting the job, then we'll only have Wufei to deal with, and we succeeded before. Yes, I know we can do it!"

"I'll talk to Duo, in a little bit, give him time to digest. I promise."

"We'll hold you to that promise, Heero."

"Best you do it directly," I advised as we left. Nothing good came from putting off the hard stuff.

That cozy chat worked out so well, we sought out poor Duo to run him over the trestles.

**(o) Wufei's POV**

I wouldn't let it drag me down. Obviously, Zechs and Treize had had a special understanding, an intimate one. A past as muddled as mine and not to be held against him. I was curious to learn more about _them_ and where the Alpha horse fit into his life now and what I had to face, because I wouldn't forsake Zechs or my own possibilities without a fight.

My fight would begin now. I would prove my worthiness and show Zechs how absolutely essential I was to him. I would become his fifth leg, so to speak.

From the very beginning, I had been worried about Zechs' broodiness. I had to do something or in a moment of passionate despair he might lose courage and drift into a permanent melancholy, leading to a premature death. I'd seen other noble-bred warriors go down that sorry path.

My ancestors would haunt me forever if I didn't take remedial action, but more importantly, I felt terror, true terror, if I allowed myself to imagine life without him, the love of my life only just discovered. This was a secret I'd not reveal to anyone. It demonstrated weakness.

So, what was I to do?

Sex appeared to lift his spirits, but I couldn't sustain that level of activity all day every day. As pleasant a scheme as that might be, it would prove impossible to physically maintain. A horse's body could only take so much wear and tear.

Clearly, he needed something to occupy his time and thoughts. Something vital to do with his time. He needed a purpose. Succession to the band's leadership would give him just that.

And if he couldn't see the possibilities, I could.

I had already come to the conclusion that I could not contest 01 for the leadership. I truly think some horses are best positioned as the power behind the throne, so to speak, I being one of those.

Of course, he and I had discussed this before. What to do and when. And he took it all to heart, apparently, openly revealing his intentions in front of the Mustangs, their lead mare and Alpha in particular—and our band! In view of that, he and I needed to review the situation, and that of Treize.

I didn't know if I wanted to open the subject of Treize with him. Obviously theirs had been a special relationship. But it was over. Anyone could see that. What was left was the brotherhood of great fighters, with mutual support and understanding. Very noble, dignified, and just. But most importantly, over.

_Over. They were over. _ I repeated this like a mantra or my _taolu_ (Chinese martial arts forms and exercises, like Japanese _katas_). Oh, my forms! No one drilled me through those any more. How did they go? Ah… something, something… _Jian_ (double-edged sword)… something else…, and then my favorite, _Nandao_ (Southern single-edged sword). Oh, dear. I'd soon forget them all.

No, I didn't see how to broach the subject of Treize and his past with Zechs.

And the inference that Zechs might be challenging Heero for… 02? That was entirely a figment of the Alpha's imagination. Zechs had no interest in 02. He just liked teasing him. I'd worked hard to warn 02 of that possibility soon after Zech's arrival, and I'd felt I'd been supremely unconvincing, at best. It was too remote a possibility to even ponder. Too remote.

Remote. Over. Remote. Over.

My tortuous thoughts plagued me all the way to the fence along which Zechs was resting his head.

"Zechs, we are on the cusp of change. It wouldn't take much to drive a wedge between Duo and Heero and truly distract Heero, enabling your conquest in two shakes of a horse's hoof."

"What makes you think I want to take charge of this all-stallion band of misfits, discounting you, dearest? I came here to wallow in my sorrows over the deaths that my leadership brought to my trusting followers."

"Don't be maudlin. You were brought here to serve Howard just as I was sold to this "O" character."

"The humans had their reasons; I had my own."

"Yes, but that was in the beginning. Haven't you begun to heal? Weren't we were both yearning for someone to end our loneliness? And then we discovered each other."

"And that is quite enough for me. How about you? Aren't you content?"

"With you, yes. But Heero is determined to have Duo take charge while he's gone, and I don't think Duo can make an effective leader. Heero hardly is, especially when it comes to handling his own lover. I wouldn't challenge Heero, but I can imagine you doing so, rising to the occasion as an act of honor. You are the logical choice. T-tr…" Damnit if I couldn't choke out that horse's name! "… the other Alpha stallion could see that. You should make your move today, now!"

"Really, my gorgeous golden tiger lily, if I really wanted to stage a coup, all I'd have to do is wait for Heero to leave and just take over. We've been over that before, and I said much the same thing."

Golden Tiger Lily? That sounded exotically masculine. I liked that name. Golden Tiger Lily. Yes… that was me.

"Darling, were you listening?" he asked.

"Certainly! I agreed. They all know that is your plan because you announced it for all the world to hear, which I found very shrewdly done. Still, none of them are pushovers. Even 02, Duo, novice that he is, is an accomplished fighter. I saw him holding off several mares with no trouble. Of course, he believes I'm a villainous vampire under your spell. We should be able to discredit him on that basis alone."

"Discredit him to whom? Now darling, think. You know the others are just going along with Duo's little fantasy."

"Oh, all right. You have me there, but—"

"Yes?"

"There is one more thing you could clear up for me. Just a bothersome thing, really, like a pesky fly—" larvae eating my heart out-

"How loathsome! We can't have you beleaguered by a thing like that. What may I do for you?"

"-a small thing. It's only that I was wondering about Treize, you know—"

"If we'd been a couple? Not so small an item to dwell upon, but I won't have you distracted by that. The answer is yes, we were the item at one time, but seeing him again let me see how my heart had healed over. No more yearnings. Curious, isn't it, how you've insinuated yourself into my central core?"

Like heart worm, I'd embedded myself in his innermost being. Not a pretty picture, but it would suffice for now. "I see."

"I hope you do. Now, hush. Would you believe me if I told you I couldn't care less? For Duo or Treize? I've discovered, Wufei, my lover and heart, that you are a sufficient amount of excitement for me to take on."

"Nonsense, and quit trying to distract me with flattery (as much as I adore it). I am capable of undertaking numerous responsibilities, as are you. It wouldn't take much to drive a wedge between Duo and Heero, truly distract Heero, enabling your conquest on a more permanent basis and it would take us only two shakes of a horse's hoof."

"Well, what I have in mind for us will take a little longer. Come closer. I want to suck your blood."

He was joking, of course. He chased me into the barn to our special place, where Percy watched for mice or other cats or something.

**(o) Trowa's POV **

We found Duo munching hay contentedly. It seemed a shame to disturb a horse when he was doing that, but my ordinarily compassionate love must have seen it more as an opportunity to acquire his attention when he was in a congenial state of mind.

"Hello, Duo. Feeling refreshed?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

His manner seemed to say "toodle-loo" as he turned his back on us, probably expecting us to amble on down to our stall.

Not my Beautiful. When he had things on his mind to say, he'd want to get'er done. Of course, I was to contribute, too, and I knew what I was to say, because we'd agreed beforehand on all the "talking points" as he called them.

"We're a team, a herd, a band of brothers who stick together. You tell him, Trowa!"

"Give a little, get a lot." I always felt it was true.

Beautiful was staring at me, expecting me to say more, so I stuck to my script, "You should pay attention to Heero's orders."

"I do."

"Don't quibble, Duo," my lover chastised.

I added clarification. "You don't _follow_ them."

And now, Duo was even more defensive. "Not _always_."

I tried again. "He's about to go through a heap of trouble soon. You add stress."

Beautiful chimed in with a sympathetic note, "It must be awful having a lover whose orders you must obey sometimes," which did the trick, making Duo loosen up.

Why ask me to do the talking when he did the better job himself, I wondered?

Duo looked relieved. "You don't know the _half_ of it. And I did the ribbon thing with you guys, drew off the mares like I was told, then came back to find him screwing—stabbing me in the back."

"Oh, Duo, he didn't do that. Zechs stole all the attention once he recognized the Alpha horse was an old ally and—"

"-and it turned out okay, didn't it?" I completed.

Now, Beautiful was backing off, turning out of the stall, leaving me to finish up, possibly, so I gave it my best. "It was all for that Treize stallion's benefit, you realize, to get him to take Heero."

"Uh, huh," Duo grunted and went back to chewing hay with an eye to the exit. "Don't trip on your way out."

Out of the corner of _my_ eye I caught a flash of creamy tail the instant before I felt a whack and a sting on my back. I twisted around to find Beautiful on his way to our stall, so I legged it to catch up.

"What was that for?" I asked my love.

"That was for sticking your big nose into trouble."

Huh? I was chastising Duo like he deserved.

This time his tail of flaxen silk, which I'd love to rub my face into and breathe deeply of his floral overtones (rose and spices shampoo, maybe?), whipped at my legs. And because he did this during foreplay, too, I knew he didn't mean anything by it more than just an outlet for his agitation.

Duo, I noted, had pushed past us going the opposite direction, hopefully, to chat up his own sweetheart and make nice.

Leaving us alone. I liked snuggling with my lover, showing him how much I adored him.

"I'm not through with you," he said.

I sure _hoped_ not. I took that as a good sign. "Then let's take it to our stall, okay?"

"Fine. Just don't think you're getting out of this."

"Never." _Why would I want to?_

**(o) Duo's POV**

Heero was on his way out of his stall when I dropped by.

"Duo, great. I was just about to come and see you."

"Yeah? Well, beat you to it. Already got visited by Sunshine and Spot, so I figured it was our turn.

"I'd like us to get back on track."

"Me, too. There's nothing we can't get past, right?"

"That's my hope."

"Look 'Ro, I'm not crazy about rushing us to the next level, or whatever, okay? I mean, you know I like you lots. There no one that comes close. You're like the hottest stallion I've ever seen and a real Thoroughbred to boot!"

"I like you too."

"And respect. I know I'm no good at showing it. I'm gonna try a lot harder, 'cause I do have oodles of respect for you and the job you gotta pull off around here."

"That's good to know."

"But you gotta respect me, too, and pretending I'm an idiot or delusional and ignoring what I say in regards to you-know-who, the Count, well, that hurts real bad."

"It's not that I don't believe what you believe—"

"No? Well, what then? You just gonna let him take over the band when you leave?"

"That won't happen. I told you, you are number two. You'll be in charge."

"I'm pretty young and more inexperienced than you were to start." As much as I liked how he had faith in me, the idea of so much responsibility resting on my back frightened me like no mess of big cats could. Well, maybe a whole pile of hungry ones.

"You'll learn fast. Trowa and Quatre will back you up completely. I'll have a talk with Wufei and Zechs to clarify things. It's important that Wufei falls in line, because he can understand humans and he will be the first to know when Relena's given up and I can return. You can trust me. Right?"

"You? Yeah, I can, but I'm still holding out on Goldie and The Count."

"We'll all talk this over together. With Zechs on board, Wufei will be outnumbered. He'll know it and come to his senses to help."

"Okay." Not that I believed anything of the sort would happen as Heero imagined it. "It was just a shocker hearing Zechs pull that power play outta his mashbag."

"He gave me a few minutes warning, but I didn't think he'd step in before Quatre had his say. I might have stopped him."

"Might? Do you think you actually could have?"

Wrong question. Never question your leader, especially if he might be having self-confidence issues. He reacted as if I'd slapped him; his eyes hardened and his mouth pulled into a tight line.

"Yes! He knows where he stands. Zechs could only be a threat if he had the heart to engage in a strategy to carry out a plan, and he does not."

"You believe that, but Zechs' motives aren't the same as yours and mine, Heero, and Wufei's soul ain't all that pure." I was confident of that, but convincing a stubborn Heero was something else. "But because they are both now vampires—"

I should have known better than to even bring the topic up, since I knew Heero would just brush it off, as he did with a swish of his mane and irritable whack of his tail. I just hoped Percy would catch them in some vampire devilry that would bear me out.

"There's another problem."

"There always is, 'Ro." I sighed and kicked up some of the loose straw strewn harum-scarum. Heero sure messed up his bedding. I would have figured him to be more orderly. I guess I didn't know him as well as I'd thought. That sad reflection led to another and another on down a depressing lane until I stopped at a foregone conclusion. My stomach tightened into a painful knot and I hoped I wouldn't lose my nice meal. "Are you sure _we're_ meant to be?"

"What?" My question must have caught him off guard. He stumbled about to get a closer look at me. "Yes, of _course_. Duo, we can make things perfect with only a few…adjustments."

The hesitation in his voice was enough of a cue that he had the _perfect _solution in mind already, but that he was unsure how I was going to take it; or, closer yet, that he was certain I'd take it badly.

"Oh, yeah? Tell me, fearless leader. What adjustments am I supposed to make, 'cause I figure it's me who has to change."

"By rejecting my advances you imperil the balance of power."

"Only if you make a big deal of it. No, Heero, I just don't see it that way."

"With the horses I grew up with, if any of us didn't go along with the lead mare, then we'd get left behind. If we didn't conform, we'd get bitten, kicked, or chased, so we'd learn to behave as to our status in the herd."

"I do what you say, mostly, unless- You mean I should just let you _take_ me whether I want it or not? Whether I'm ready or not?"

"No! I'd never _force_ you."

"'Cause what I'm hearing is 'Just get over it for the sake of the herd and suck it up.'"

"Duo, I-I- I want you to _want_ me to, and not reject me in front of the others."

"That's kinda hard since they're always around—"

"I want to protect you."

"Yeah? That's cool, though you gotta remember I'm no wimp."

"Understood. So, say yes." He watched me out of the corner of his eyes, looking kinda cagey. "Having sex with me will protect you from vampires."

"What?" There were so many different things for me to be baffled about I hardly knew where to begin. And I'd just got to feeling we were on the same wavelength with our little talk. "Hogwash!" I couldn't help but recoil from everything he'd just said. Like he was just saying what he knew I'd wanna hear, but then get right back on track the first chance he could. "You're so single-minded, Heero. You think you can sweet-talk and fib yourself into my stall? Where do you get material like that? No, don't tell me, just go. Git!"

"Duo, I wasn't being serious about the vampire bit. You'd brought it up before and- Come on. Give me a chance—"

"Oh, no, oh, no—" and I nearly crashed through Heero's stall door still shouting, not thinking Trowa and Quatre were a stall away.

**(o) Trowa's POV**

With Duo gone to talk up Heero and with any luck making peace, it was just Beautiful and me stowed away in our double stall. I felt the time had come for some nookie. I nibbled at his nearest ear, blowing in seductive thoughts with my breath.

"I am trying to be serious here," he said, sounding grumpy.

I nickered enticingly. "So am I, love."

He snared my attention when he stomped his buffed and polished hooves. "You _know_ what I'm talking about."

"Um, maybe not." I was thinking about keeping my nose out of everyone's business and getting it on with my lovely rump mate in our stall.

"You do! Think, Trowa!"

A nip here, a nip there, more tail… "I'm thinking," I told him.

_How could I concentrate with him so close, so warm, and so playful? _

"Hel-lo-o? You promised to kill the cougars, Trowa! That wasn't part of the plan either. You and Heero and Zechs were all _improvising_! Now, how are we going to kill cougars?"

_Ah, that. _

And I thought our problem solving was only going to concern Duo and Heero. Should have guessed I'd blown it somewhere along the line, too. Of us all, Beautiful was the most rigid about proper herd mentality. And there he was, looking hot and bothered and really stud-ly.

_What had he just asked? _

Oh, yeah. I avoided answering the second question, loaded as it was. No matter what I came up with, I knew I'd be giving him more ammunition to shoot me down with than would do me any good. My beautiful logic aficionado was a sharp one, and I made a good target.

Besides, I knew there'd be a way to eradicate the cats, once we found them. It was just too hard to explain. I wasn't very good at explaining, especially not to that earnest face of his.

"Say something!"

_Something._ Oh, well, attempting enlightenment, I said, "The idea that offering them medical aid in trade for taking on another alpha stallion was played out. You saw that, right? I could tell they didn't believe it would be of use to them. But when Duo noticed the cut on the lead stallion's leg, which looked to be from a big claw, I saw an opportunity. It worked."

"Of course it did!" Quatre sure was all stirred up. "We do the work, take the risks, and all they have to do is run Heero out of the band to get everything they want out of the arrangement."

"We don't kill the cougars until it's time for Heero to come back."

"We can time things so perfectly?"

"Well, sure, if we leave the dead animal out with a shitload of poison in it, the cougars will find it pretty quick."

"Do you have a stash of poisons? I don't! And the dead animal? Where do we get that?"

Heero would have suggested Percy, had he been here, but I could tell my lover wasn't game to go for that. "Something will come up."

Just then, as if I'd cued him, Duo burst out of Heero's stall, making an awful racket and protesting loudly, "Not over my dead body, 'Ro!"

_See? _

I didn't really say that, I just looked at my lover, _I swear_.

"That was not even the _tiniest_ bit funny, Trowa!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: Thank you, lovely readers, for all your feedback. I've been terrible about replying to your kind comments, but believe me they have meant a lot. I aim to do better now. And as with all the chapters of this story, thanks go to Waterlily for providing me with the human perspective and to Snowdragon for the equine.

**Chapter Twenty— With Spots Before Your Eyes**

**(o) Duo's POV**

I'd been grazing on the bits of grass growing at the base of the fence posts, mulling over the latest argument with Heero, when I noticed Goldie hustling out of the barn. I watched him come nearer, clearly targeting me as his destination and his face knotted unpleasantly. I had no idea what beef he might have with me, but I prepared to defend myself if he chose to take his grievances to the physical level; in fact, I kinda looked forward to a scrap to work out my stress.

"Duo, hurry back to the stable. We haven't much time."

"For what?"

"I was in the barn when the word came down. Howard's ordering a lockdown, security level red."

"Red?"

"Relena! Red! I don't know any details. I overheard the stable manager giving orders to his minions for tonight. Heero wants to go over our plans before we get locked up."

That meant Heero'd be gone soon! Heero'd be leaving me and he wouldn't wanna come back. Did I have a shred of hope of making up first? I trotted back to the stable alongside Goldie with the worry part of my brain on overload, while the reasonable part of my mind pretty much shut down.

When we got there, everyone else was crowded around Spot and Sunshine's suite, parting to make a place for Goldie and me.

"We leave tonight." Heero's eyes caught mine. "I met with each of you so you know already that I'm leaving Duo in charge, and expect you all to help out. If not, I'll hear of it. I want weekly updates. We talked about this; you'll get out to the pasture gates after sunrise, where I'll be."

Spot taught us to keep track of a week by counting days using our legs, two days for each. When we get to the last leg for the second time, a new week starts.

"Do I hear any disagreements?"

Either Goldie or I or the both of us shuffled our feet, but no one complained. Me in charge. I'd known that was the way it would go, but now that it was about to come true, I had doubts out the kazoo. Just how long after leaving Heero to the Mustangs would it be before The Count and I'd be knocking heads?

"Trowa, you have the paint stowed and ready for use?" Heero sounded all business.

"Yeah, brush and all. Little mixing then we mark you. Ten minutes."

"There's the business of the locks," I thought to mention. "If they get the electronic ones back operational on the stalls and stable doors, that'll eat up more time getting open."

"It would save time if Heero and Trowa shared this stall, wouldn't it?"

"Sunshine, are you nuts?"

"Not yet. Just listen. With Trowa in the stall with him, Heero could have the disguise done by the time the doors were open."

Smart horse. Heero thought so, too.

"Yes, it's a good idea. We'll try that and see if the humans attempt to interfere."

"Would a little deception help?" The Count asked. "I'm certain I can start a little ruckus to distract the workers so you and Quatre can exchange places—if need be."

"Good backup strategy."

Now was my chance to apologize to Heero and set things straight.

Then a couple humans entered and another, chattering on about something in kind voices, but leading us to our assigned stalls.

The Count let out a piercing whinny and I heard him kicking a stall wall, wood cracking. Percy streaked by, a blur of white and a man after him with a stick. The man leading me slapped my rump, my guess to encourage me to go to my stall, and then he took off where the commotion was at the other end of the stable.

It was all working. With the humans otherwise diverted, we could sort out ourselves out our way. Sunshine pushed by me to Heero's stall, which felt really strange even when I understood what was up. Heero wasn't out, so I guessed he was already hidden away, and Spot was turning around. He stuck his head out the top half of the door and chewed a mouthful of straw, "nothin' goin' on here."

I couldn't see Goldie either, so I looked out the back stall window. Hey! A human hand pushed my nose away and closed the shutters. "There go the locks!" I told everyone.

The inner doors swung shut and the locks engaged with a humming sound. Nickering calls reassured me that everything was going according to plan. I only had to wait for Trowa's all-clear call before starting to undo the locking mechanisms.

"This is fortunate," I heard Spot telling Heero. "Gives us time for the paint to dry. Looks pretty good."

What could I say to Heero now? No magic words to undo the last fight came to mind, but I tried to paste a few together as I waited. Human voices and footfalls came and went. They were taking extra measures this night. Whatever they knew, the humans were prepping for an eminent threat.

When Spot had explained about our escape timing, he'd said that it was summer and the days were long. There should be time to do all our traveling before if got completely dark out.

"It's close to sunset, isn't it?" I asked him, just guessing. It had seemed like we'd been penned up for hours to me.

"No," Spot said, "but there's a change of watch guard soon, and the human's won't be covering us for an hour or so. Be ready to go then."

It couldn't be soon enough for me. I hated this waiting around; the longer the delay the darker it would get, and I sure didn't look forward to stumbling about in the murky wild lands chancing a broken leg.

I studied the lock on my door and decided it was the same one I'd shorted out before, just replaced, so that a repeat performance would disable them again. Spit or pee. No worries there. Which meant I had loads of time to ponder life.

I loved Heero. I was miserable. To be happy, I knew I needed him, yet here I was miserable. Utterly. What did it matter that he was more aggressive than I was prepared for or that he was as unromantic as a horse could get? I was no particularly great catch myself. But he'd thought I was. Geez, what an idiot I was… he was… we both were.

I whinnied his name and heard mixed reviews. A little muffled "Duo" and some of Spot's "not now."

Percy stuck his paw under the gap at the bottom of the door, but he must have had better things to do or more out of the way places to hide, because he left after that.

How much longer until we had to go?

"Delay of plans," came Spot's soft voice. "Time table pushed out. Hold on tight."

I passed on the news to Sunshine and heard muttering further away.

Wait, wait, wait.

Howard must have expected Relena to come in the night- kinda like a human vampire, when I thought about it- and steal Heero away. That made me suddenly love the feel of the locked doors. The barn blockaded, the fences buzzing with Relena-frying electricity.

I said to nobody in particular, "Maybe we should can the plan and just wait it out and see if Howard can magically save Heero from her clutches?"

"Duo, it's time."

Spot's alert jolted me awake. In near darkness, I broke through the locks. There probably was a bit of moonlight, but not much more to help me get past the security. The barn and stable had been buckled down tighter than a jumper for show.

"Dawn's not far off," Spot told us as we slinked our way to the outside arena gate.

We stuck to the shadows and listened for the sound of humans. You'd think they'd never leave us unwatched, but Spot followed their schedules carefully and knew when the guard coverage would be weakest.

Good thing Howard hadn't kept dogs, or we'd been found out, though.

Our time was "excellent" according to Spot when I disengaged the locking mechanism for the back gates. Good thing, because we couldn't gallop across the moonlit pasture to the electric fence, for fear of stumbling into a rabbit hole or tripping over hidden snags.

Spot led the way with me next, 'cause we had the best night vision. Actually, to be fair, Percy was out in front performing point duty. He could see nearly as well as in daylight, so he cut a path for us that was safe and short.

I wondered why he was so cooperative. When I asked Goldie about that, I was told The Count had promised him a female mate in return for his help.

"Where's he going to come up with that?" I asked.

And Goldie just flipped his stubby, half-braided little tail. "He's already taken care of it."

The Count and Sunshine were visible in the gloom, reflecting the moonlight best. Spot flickered in and out of shadows; I was a shadow, gliding along silently. Heero I caught glimpses of at the end of the line.

"It's awfully dark." I heard the waver of fear in my breezy buddy's voice, as his pale, ghostly form nestled close to mine.

"Yes, it is, my little ray of Sunshine and brightness, but you are not alone."

"That's what's worrying me, the things out there closing in on us."

"No cats. We'd smell'em. No ozone, so no thunderstorms." I was checking off the dire things that could strike us down. We really didn't need lightening now and screw with Heero's head. I wasn't sure what played out in Spot's nightmares, he was such a stoic, and his mistrustfulness wasn't any worse that mine.

However, my worst fears were about to be realized as a result of my own actions. "Only our two resident vampires and they're outnumbered."

"Other," he shivered, "things."

Right. Poor Sunshine. Whatever demons were out and about tonight, he brought along more of his own to wrestle with.

"Just stick close to me and you'll be all right. Me, I'm the God of Death."

That he thought was funny. And that was all right because it meant that awful quivering unease in his voice had disappeared.

Once we'd hopped the fence, the path turned rugged. We hadn't worn it as well and we had to go slower, check for safe hoof holds. I figured that's why Spot stopped.

"There they are, waiting for us," he said.

Or, he'd stopped because we'd come to the end of our road. The Mustangs stomped and snuffled nervously in the dark.

And there was the smell of mountain lions.

I coulda done fine without them stinking up the place.

"Spot, Sunshine," I was already taking over, "Better you guys stay on watch for cat attack."

Apparently, the cats had been sniffing around the wild herd since a colt and a couple fillies had been birthed. While we waited for the Alpha to put in an appearance, I tried to stay near to Heero, who stood between me and The Count, with Goldie vamping on the white horse's other side. We were all listening to what the mares were saying, and keeping an eye out for trouble.

The dark one called Noin was nearest The Count. She and the lighter one, Sally, were attempting to engage both vampires' attention. Didn't they ever get tired of trying?

"-You're just saying that, because if I died I'd get a two rank promotion.*"

"No, Noin, I was saying we wouldn't be in this predicament if we had run the cats off a cliff months ago, but you chickened out."

"I'm… just feeling a little beat up inside and out*. You wouldn't expect me to take on the big cats all by myself, would you?" Noin hip-checked The Count to get his eyes on her. "I do trust you, Zechs.*"

"Forgive me, were you addressing me?" he drawled.

"Well, yeah," she huffed. "Say, what's that on your back?"

"A cat."

Percy remained snuggled at the base of his mane, well entangled, purring. Great, the vampires had a familiar now. They'd conquered Percy, and all for the promise of a girlfriend.

"Ah! Kill it!" This time I agreed with her, and I'da bet Heero did too.

"Kill what? You are making no sense." The Count curled a lip and revealed a vampire fang.

I saw it! I did!

"Zechs, please don't make me repeat myself. Again!* Oh, there's leader Une. Gotta go."

"You heard her. Why do you say things like that?" Heero asked him.

"Because I can." The Count, he was a smooth one and sly. I sure never trusted him and pretty soon, Heero would be gone and it would be me and the fanged one hoof to hoof.

Over the din of arriving hoof beats, I could hear Noin pass on her message, "I've got a call-in from his Excellency. He says to be more graceful. About everything. _More graceful,_ _Lady_ Une.*"

And I could swear that _Lady_ Une looked about to eat the bearer of unwanted messages for breakfast, and might have, had she been a cat.

"Message received. And don't you go back to squandering your time and energy on that atrophied excuse for a stallion."

"Oh, but I...I do love him!*" Noin said about _Zechs_, poor delusional thing. He might as well bite her and get it over with. Put another misty-eyed, slobbering, admirer out of his misery, or _her_ misery in this case.

"You are a fool, then. Pull yourself together," the lead mare snapped at her. "Treize is our Alpha, not that other stallion. We have a pact to settle."

"Yes, of course!" Noin said, pulling herself together and looking resolute. "It was Treize, our grand Treize, who won. We all love him dearly!"

Une's left eye twitched, and there weren't any flies about either. "Won? I suppose acquiring a challenger to his position in exchange for ridding us of the big cats could be considered a 'win'. It is not the victor that leads the heart of the horses.*"

Then who, I wondered, the losers? Treize was their 'heart' wasn't he? And a winner? She'd just contradicted herself, unless she thought of herself as the beloved leader, which I suppose she might have convinced herself of that. Geez, that Une was a nutcase. I couldn't wait to be away from her, but at the same time, I dreaded leaving Heero in her clutches.

"Leave your excess baggage and go," the lead mare ordered The Count, with a swift kick.

She was referring to _my _Heero as garbage. I hated her to my very core.

"We won't be needing you any further.*" This time she insulted the ignoble Count himself, but I didn't hate her any less. "I'm afraid it'll give him an attitude.*"

She tried rear-kicking Heero away, but he'd expected no less, I bet, 'cause he moved out of her range. He was too much the gentleman to kick her back, especially not under the current conditions of his stay. He'd be dependent on her good graces while he hid with the wild band.

"Hell of a time for tasteless tactics, Une! Get a grip on yourself!*" The Count shot in an angry reply.

Oooh, she'd gotten him all riled up and gotten a reaction out of him!

And that was just the start of the white stallion's little show of dominance. So he did have a backbone. Oh, of course, his lordship, Treize, had arrived and all that was an act put on for his benefit. At least I hoped that's what was going on.

Treize looked on, but remained out of the immediate circle.

The Count crammed himself next to Heero, showing more of that side of him I hadn't seen, but imagined. The aggressive warrior.

"Une says 'trot along'," he said to Heero in a snooty tone of voice.

I could barely make out what they were saying, but I heard my name and Heero tell the older horse, "Be of assistance to Duo."

"I think the time for your orders has come to an end, don't you?"

Heero stepped closer, nearly touching noses with the white vampire. "Help him, or I will deal with your noncompliance later."

"Don't pick a fight, Heero. Duo already has to digest your forsaking him. Let's not add your mortifying defeat to me to his humiliating memories."

Grr. That was a nasty dig. I sure as tootin' hoped he was just saying that for the benefit of the Mustangs. All bluster. I, of course, felt it was time for me to jump in and reassure my Heero. I nuzzled deep into his closest ear and whispered, "I can take care of everything. Don't worry. Including _him_." The Count, him.

"I trust you to do that, Duo." The warmth in his eyes melted me on the spot and the feel of his nose rubbing my neck ever so lightly nearly brought me to my knees.

Heero backed up. I smelled the traces of his scent, the tickle of his lips, as if he were still pressing into me.

No, don't go.

I didn't want to part. My teeth hurt. The pain ran completely through me.

This is how I felt when Solo left me, died. Watching the life blink out and the flies… That gut twisting fear that I was alone and probably next on the chopping block.

Desertion!

Heero was abandoning me!

No, that wasn't strictly true. I was doing the leaving. I was backing away and he was surrounded by strangers.

How could I just leave him like that?

It did it without thinking. I bounded past the vampire pair, who'd positioned themselves probably thinking they'd stop me from doing something stupid, and rushed into Heero's face. I rubbed my nose along his neck, shoulders, and back, breathing in as deeply as possible his unique, male aroma. I wanted to cover myself in his fragrance and take it with me.

"Lead well. You can do it. Don't mind the small problems," he whispered.

"I won't mind. I won't have the capacity to mind*," I said, snuffling back tears.

"Lean on Quatre and Trowa, even Zechs and Wufei. They want the band to be strong."

"'Kay."

I heard Treize's muffled snort followed by a snide comment. "Well, Milliardo, it appears you have a tough little second to contend with."

Me? Oh, I really wanted to kick some horse's ass now. "Hey!"

I felt Goldie plowing between us and nudging 'Ro and me apart. "We must leave. Getting late."

"We'll be together soon. As I promised." Heero licked my ear and looked away over his shoulder, where his future lay.

I turned my back on him. I couldn't bear to look over _my_ shoulder to where _he _was and the only future I wanted was.

I whinnied "run" and took off, speeding past the lookouts. With the first rays of light poking through the thunderheads, I had Sunshine at my heels and more painting my back.

Once we'd left the Mustang's territory, I fell back, automatically taking the rear guard position held formerly by Heero. Sunshine and Goldie charged in the front, as if they were racing for whose nose could win the race to the first gate.

It was as if Heero'd never existed. Everyone falling into place. I hated that. I hated how we horses were—the band mightier than the individual. It made us strong and let us last, but right then I didn't care. I longed for Heero.

How could I go on without him?

I did. I released locks and jumped fences and checked the others for telltale signs of where we'd been, just like we'd done before. I did it all.

Lead well, he'd told me. I'd do my best, for him. So he'd hear good things about me and be proud, when we'd go and check on him. And, he'd come back. Everything would be waiting for him and just how he left it, but better, when he came back. Yeah, I'd make it better.

But when we got back, the moment I saw the red-faced stable boy waving his arms like a stupid bird who'd lost its feathers, probably all excited over our disappearance and sudden reappearance, and I felt bad. Empty. Just plain awful.

The next day was awfuller.

**(o) Howard's POV**

"I can't imagine how she broke in and stole him away. I'm worried sick about that horse." The locks were fried, again. Something must have alarmed the horses, too. They left loads of piss. "Armed guards possibly?"

"Sir, Miss Relena has just arrived. Outside. Her car."

"She has, has she? She here to gloat? I'll give her what now, you can bet!"

She pitty-patted directly to me, waving what I imagined to be her court order. "I've come for Heero. This says he's mine and you have to take me to him on demand."

"It does, does it? Well, sorry to disappoint you, missy, but he's not here."

"You didn't sell him! You can't have!"

"Didn't claim I did. Said he's gone."

"Gone?"

"He's not here, I tell you. Why, I was positive it was you who stole him!"

"I don't believe you! I wouldn't steal what was legally mine to begin with!" She fluttered the papers in my face.

"Well, be that as it may, it's the truth. You can check, if you don't believe me. I put a call in to look out for horse trailers on the roadways between here and your uncle's stables. I was about to call his manager, when your car pulled up."

One of my trusted hands rushed into the corral where Relena and I were having our conversation. "Howard, er, sir!"

"You have news? Heero's been found? No? Spit it out, then."

"Josh found signs that the horses have jumped the fence, the electric one!"

"But they're all back in their stalls, except for the Thoroughbred."

I forgotten Relena was standing right there until she shrieked in my ear, "You mean Heero!" She'd figured it all out, I guessed. "You think he jumped the fence too? But, but why he didn't come back with the others? W-what could have happened to Heero?"

Mountain lions came to mind. "I don't know." But I would find out. "Saddle the horses!"

"You're going out riding, now?"

"That's right. We begin our investigation along the fence. If Heero's out in the wild horse lands (and alive), we'll find him."

"I want to go with you."

"Suit yourself."

"I'll need a horse. Please, let me borrow one?"

"If the Morgan's owner will let you, ride him. Duo's the black one. He's good with kids."

"I'm not a child. I'm almost sixteen—"

I wasn't listening to the jabber of the girl. Heero's well-being was foremost in my mind. "If Heero's out there, Duo'll lead us to him."

"But why's that?"

I didn't care to explain how her "dear Heero" adored that particular stallion. I couldn't and I wouldn't. I had my hands full gathering supplies we might need.

"Ropes? Guns? What are those for?" Relena demanded shrilly. "Do not ignore me! I have a right to know!"

For the love of God. "In case we find the horse in a gully and have to haul him up. And don't ask with the guns are for. If you're coming along, better getcher horse."

**(o) Duo's POV**

I just thinking how life at Happy Hoppin' Horse Havens, or whatever this place was called, seemed to be going no place fast. Dead in the water, that's how I felt now that Heero wasn't around.

Why ever did I think no action was bad? He coulda stayed here and just held out, waited for Howard to figure out things, trust the humans. Now he was gone. I'd lost my appetite and started kicking my oats pail just to watch the contents spill. Take that!

Then the humans were all over the stable, chattering, dragging me out, and the others too. The next thing I knew, I was being saddled up, we all were, but that wasn't the point. I was getting saddled up to carry HER. The Relena.

Nooooooo!

Why _me_? Of all the horses to choose, why did she pick me? How come _I'm_ the chump who got saddled with the Evil One. The temptation to throw her was just so _huge_!

Spot bumped me, moving to make room for The Count and Howard to cross in front. I hadn't been expecting that, and caught off balance, I almost stumbled and nearly let her fall—whatta wonderful start!

"She's calling you a gimpy, merry-go-round pony," Goldie the vamp and warrior wannabe had the nerve to say.

"She doesn't deserve my notice," I said as lightly as possible, trying to hide how his insult had hurt. I guess I was still touchy about my less than stellar past vocation.

But he went and surprised the heck outta me by adding, "You are absolutely correct. She doesn't."

"Thanks," I said, but he'd already trotted past, so I didn't think he'd heard me.

As it turned out, the Evil One was a light load and a pretty fair rider. I couldn't complain about that, or I _would _have.

We'd gone this route to the electric fence enough times now that I started timing my steps for the jumping part. _Not doing that today, geez,_ I reminded myself. Luckily, I was in the back, last to go and the others had slowed to a stop.

"What's up?" I asked Goldie, ignoring the directions my rider was giving me.

"She says you're stubborn and stupid." His eyes actually sparkled with mirth. Better than malice, which I'd been more mentally prepared for. I'd really more expected The Count and him to be taxing me as opposed to supporting me. Maybe that would come later.

"Forget her," I said, issuing orders like I'd been born to it. "Listen to Howard. What's he saying?"

His ears flicked around. "Just a moment." Rather than fighting my command, Goldie reported to me properly.

That was cool.

"They are opening the gate. Power's off. They're searching for Heero. Howard's worried that we were attacked by the cougars and that Heero was killed, or spooked off, and that's why he didn't return home with us."

"Crud! How did he come to suspect cougars might be involved?"

"I suspect the human's are aware of them. They brought guns along."

I'd seen humans shoot a horse with a broken leg, too, but I didn't bring that ugly thought up. "Did he mention the Mustangs?"

He shook his tightly bound mane. "Not yet."

Well, that was good news. We hadn't been attacked by anything bigger than pesky flies and we knew where Heero was. As long as Howard didn't get it into his head that the Mustangs were involved and that he might want to investigate further, we were in the clear.

The good times didn't last for long. Why was it that the good times never lasted, while the bad stuff just hung around like flies on dung?

After combing the hills- for what my buddy Spot told me was about an hour- and finding no sign of Heero, most of us horses were ready to go back.

Not Howie. Howard called for the riders to join him. He'd found something of interest, but forbade Relena to "view" whatever it was, I figured, 'cause he grabbed my bridle and held me back.

Drat! "What's the problem now? I'm not liking this!" As the band's acting leader, someone would report to me, _should _report to me; I hoped they'd remember that. Goldie'd been doing a great job of it so far, and when I looked for him in the gloom, he appeared fully alert.

Goldie cocked his ears and remained poised, listening, and then said, "Howard found indications of horses and one dead big cat."

Erk?

That wasn't good. Not at all. Not in any way could that be good, well, except there was one less enemy out there, but what had that cost the horses? Would Heero been involved? Had it been cats and us, he might take one on, but for the wild horses? Let them be culled. Ah, nuts. I wouldn't even wish Death-by-Cougar on that Une character.

I could see Spot wandering close to the scene to get a high-quality look. When he contrived a clever maneuver to be near me, I asked, "Is it an old kill?"

"Nope, recent. Killed this morning, by my reckoning. Definitely pummeled by hooves; smashed in skull. Pretty well mashed. Could have happened shortly after we left them."

Ugh, real bad.

"Howard wants to move on," Goldie broke in. "He thinks Heero might have been chased by a cougar and run to the Mustangs seeking safety in a herd."

"That's crazy, well, not really. Howie's pretty smart for a human." Too smart in this case.

"He's worried about Heero fighting with the Mustangs."

"Me, too."

I could see Howie was giving The Count his head to lead us all to the Mustangs, and the vampire seemed to be taking the most circuitous route possible. The only reason I could think of was to try to discourage the Evil One from following along. She didn't tire though. I even jumped a few rocks and she handled those well.

She musta really loved Heero. Too bad. I did, too.

The Mustangs saw us first; Hilde and Noin's calls announcing our intrusion echoed against the high rock cliffs. A strange call. With humans on our backs, we were no longer just horses like them. The men had ropes and guns and smelled of danger. We rode around the band at a distance, searching, examining the wild horses.

No Heero. Even I couldn't make out his bred-for-speed body. My rider kept at it, though. Calling and calling.

"What's she saying?" I hoped she wasn't making him feel bad enough to break character and come to her call.

"Heero! I am waiting for you to come back to me, Heero!*" Goldie translated. "Silly woman. Oh, she ought to just give up and go. Hold on. She wants to go back. No, wait!"

"You bet I'll wait! I don't wanna leave without seeing if 'Ro's okay. Anybody get the low down on the dead cougar yet?"

"Low…down?" Goldie repeated. "It is flat on the ground."

_Argh! _ "Find out more," I pleaded.

"When I can."

Howard was jabbering with Sunshine's rider, heads nodding, agreeing on something. Relena climbed off, left my reins dangling, and marched up to Sunshine. Instructor H dismounted with effort, he weighed more than he should, and helped her up onto his saddle.

"She thinks Quatre's prettier," Goldie said with a snicker of satisfaction. "And switched. There she goes."

"He is," I agreed. "Good riddance—I meant about the girl, not our beautiful Sunshine."

Instructor H continued talking with the other humans. No one was watching me, so I meandered closer to the horses in the tall grass to get a better look. If I were Heero, that's where I'd be.

Where? Where? Where was he?

There! Yeah, his spots intact and everything. He looked great. Spec-ta-cu-li-ci-ous.

I ambled one way then turned closer to where Heero was grazing, looking real casual, and then leaned over to bite off a clump of grass. "Hey. How'yre doin'?"

"Better than Treize. He has a second injury to a leg that needs looking after. Don't get too close."

I noticed blood splatters on 'Ro's front legs. "You sure you're okay?"

"Fine."

"Not fine, Heero. I see blood on you. You can't go anywhere with your leg in this condition! We're talking miracles here!*"

"It might take a miracle for you, but I can handle it.*"

"Well, excuse me for being a mere mortal!*"

Heero looked away. "You think I'm a vampire too now?"

"A what? Oh mortal-immortal. Very funny you are."

He cast a glance over his bloodied fur. "I'm not hurt badly. Just a scratch, really."

"Oh, that's good, then. So, we found a dead cat."

"One less now."

"Details, sweetheart."

He blinked a coupled times. "Howard's coming over."

"Then talk fast."

One nod and he was off, "We were running, Treize keeping back. There was a young colt unable to keep up and he was protecting it. I joined to help and the mountain lion moved in, got too close and I was able to kick it, taking advantage of luck. Treize circled around and reared back, landing hard and crushing its ribcage. I trampled its skull. There's still the female out there."

Suddenly Spot was in my face. "Hey, Howard's eyeing you guys very closely. Better get back, Duo, before you blow everything."

"Yeah, 'kay. Bye, 'Ro. Love you—"

"Ah, me, too," he said as I backed away, and Heero nestled back low in the weeds.

I could hardly tell he was there, but knowing he was made all the difference. I could leave him as long as I'd seen with my own two eyes that he was okay.

"So, what'sup?" I asked Spot, who looked preoccupied by something in the far distance. On his back was Instructor S, clicking his tongue to get his attention.

"I'm supposed to retrieve you, I think."

That was obvious and I rolled my eyes. "Right. No, I meant, what's going on?"

Spot turned around and I stepped in line like an obedient horsey.

"Wufei says that the humans noticed the alpha stallion's injuries and were deciding what to do about him. They also want someone with a gun to follow and protect Relena."

"She's giving up on finding Heero, then?" I asked hopefully.

"Looks like it." Spot, I could tell, yearned to follow Sunshine, leaning in that direction, and listening. "Heero can take care of business here. He knows what he's doing."

"You guys really trust in Heero. But he too can make mistakes*," I grumbled, followed by a distant grumble louder than mine.

Thunderclouds loomed on the horizon, building up behind the hills. Now that just wasn't fair. We didn't need nature to gang up on us like that!

Now I was back to worrying about Heero being out there, facing the bad weather alone. Instructor H claimed my bridle and climbed aboard, and then Spot and I trundled back in the direction of home carrying our loads atop us.

And now Goldie was riding off at a fast clip.

"Now what?"

"Guess he's the one going for help. Bringing a vet or truck maybe? I dunno—" Spot's mouth snapped shut and his ears rotated to the side. "Beautiful!"

He hadn't called me that, he'd heard a whinny.

And then Relena's distant scream.

No one had to tell me to punch it up a few notches. Before the men on our backs knew what was happening, Spot and I had taken off in the direction of the calls, Spot running faster than I'd ever seen him.

As it turned out, Sunshine hadn't carried Relena very far back at all. When I caught up to them, Spot was standing fearlessly between his lover and the biggest she-cat I'd ever seen.

Unwavering. Still as death. Not the comparison I wanted to have at the moment.

My rider was shouting at Relena, I think. She shut up, anyway. I was grateful for that and I'll bet Spot and Sunshine were too. Silence is golden for sure, which reminded me that without Goldie, I wasn't going to learn much from the humans. Drat.

I heard The Count trot behind me and come to a halt. "I don't see Wufei. I hope he reaches the ranch safely."

His voice sounded so filled with concern I had to sympathize. "Yeah, bet he will, 'cause there's the other half of the cat-pair."

"Oh, my…" he gasped, I guess because for the first time he was seeing what had caused all the ruckus.

The cougar growled a warning, an anxious-sounding, rattling kinda moan, causing Sunshine to shift on his feet and twitch. He musta been just itching to run. I sure felt it was the thing to do.

"When you said you'd catch the cats with a dead animal, Trowa, I certainly wouldn't have allowed it to be you!" he shouted.

Ah, love my little ray of Sunshine. Ignore the dangerous wild animal and start a fight over tactics.

"I'm not dead."

"Not _yet_!" Sunshine cried. "What are you doing? Run! Run!"

"I'm going to kill this last cougar," Spot insisted.

"Oh, no! That's too dangerous! Zechs! Duo! Say something! Don't let him do this!"

Spot remained frozen in place, staring eye-to-eye with the cat, like they were both mesmerized, then he said in the calmest tone, "Until now I have resisted my fate to die. And I'll just have to resist it again*."

The glint of shiny metal shimmered and I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and instant before the air resonated with a loud-

Boom!

A cloud of dust, a yowl to end all yowls, and another ear-splitting blast! Leaping lions!

It took all my strength of will to not jump, rear back, toss the weight off my back, and skedaddle out of Laredo. I'd never heard a gun go off like that right by my ears, and now I was afraid I'd never have the use of my ears again.

* Once again, I borrowed lines directly from the original series.


	21. Chapter 21

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: I'm eternally grateful to Waterlily and to Snowdragon for their editing and encouragement

**Chapter Twenty-One— Wild Horses Retreating**

**(0) Howard's POV**

My own rifle was impossible to reach so I sat back and watched. As if he knew exactly how to behave when facing down a mortal enemy, the Appaloosa took charge of the situation, bracing for attack, screening the Arabian with the hysterical girl astride him, and seeming to hold the cat's eyes in a staring contest, all the while nickering in soothing tones to his fellow horses.

If my horses hadn't impressed everyone before, watching that self-restrained Appaloosa in a standoff with a boiling she-cat of a mountain lion would have done it single-handedly.

And he had calm to share with his band mates. None of them bolted when the rifles shot down the big cat. Most interesting was the conversation the Trowa kept up with the frightened Arabian, offering comfort and keeping him from bolting. Most unusual.

"The circus selects out the timid horses," I pointed out to my colleagues after the excitement had died down. "He jumped through burning hoops and had lions on his back, so he must be very brave by nature."

"Most impressive," Dr. S purred into his pet's ears.

Instructor S had a horse to be proud of, and even as he lavished the Appaloosa with praise, I think Trowa cared more about the comforting nickers coming from his Arabian friend.

I'd completely forgotten about the young girl sitting astride the Arabian until she spoke up. "It's terrible that we had to kill a beautiful animal like that."

"Yes, it is. I wonder if this one was ill like the male?" I left my horse to graze while I checked out the dead cougar. Just as I thought.

"Was she sick, too?" Relena asked.

"Yes, all the signs point to the same feline fever the other adult was dying from."

Instructor S settled his rife across his lap and let out his breath. "Makes me feel better not to have gunned down a handsome creature in perfect health."

My feelings exactly. "They wouldn't have lasted much longer, sick as they were."

"We can't have animals like this preying upon our wild horses, sick or well," he said. "Doctor J recommended more frequent and more diligent perimeter checks of the property in the future."

"He's welcome to ride out as often as he wants." Even though it was now probably safe to let the girl ride back alone, I wanted to get my horses back to their stable. I'd learned the whereabouts of their leader and didn't want them around the wild horses, especially any injured ones.

"Miss Relena, do you feel up to riding back now?"

"Yes, thank you for asking. I want to keep looking, though. You've lost my horse, somehow, and I won't forgive you for that. I just hope he's not lying dead in some gully someplace."

Oh, no. I didn't want her hanging around any longer. She was apt to get into more trouble or even manage to spy Heero!

"We'll keep looking. You can be sure of that. But there's no sense putting the other horses in danger. I won't allow it. Instructor H, would you accompany Miss Relena back to the stables?"

"If I can get this pony to move—" he grumbled as he gave Duo another kick to the ribs.

"I'd best go, too," said Instructor S, leaning forward a little and giving the spotted horse neck another affectionate pat. "I think Trowa's had enough. He wants to go."

Follow the Arabian was what he wanted to do, regardless of what his owner wanted, I thought, which got me to chuckling. Of course, the girl took it personally and frowned at me. Too bad. I had too many things to worry about to be bothered about her thin-skin and misconceptions.

"Probably true. Good idea. Master O's probably already at the dirt road, so he'll guide the vet and horse carrier up here."

"Then I can stay here and wait, too!" the girl cut in.

"Absolutely not. There's no reason to upset the Mustangs with more of us than necessary," I told her, "And you are unnecessary."

The rest of what I had to say was frosted over by a whinny from the black horse.

"I'm so not!" she started babbling, but it looked like I had a recalcitrant horse on my hands.

"What's the matter, H? The little Morgan being stubborn?"

"That he is. Never seen him act up with Professor G like this."

"Maybe I can help," I said.

I thought maybe I knew what the matter was, but hell if I knew how to communicate that to him. I began with a carrot, which he snapped up like the greedy little beggar he was, then looked him in the eye. "Go back."

He shook his head as if to tell me "no way."

Poor little guy. He pined for his lost friend and didn't want to leave the wild horses, or maybe he was worried about more cougars—who knew for sure? However, his behavior signaled to me that Heero was hidden back there, even if I hadn't seen the Thoroughbred for myself. Good thing the girl hadn't been paying close attention to the Morgan, or understood his attachment for Heero. She might have decided to turn back and search anew.

I said from the start that these were extraordinary horses, and the more time I spent around them, the more certain I was of that early assessment. I felt that they had some uncanny understanding of what was going on. They seemed aware of Relena, who she was, and of her pursuit of Heero. From the way the horses acted, she was unwelcome.

How did they know?

Even my steed seemed determined to make the journey harder than necessary, climbing the most brutal rock face. Was it in an effort to discourage Relena from the trip? It seemed to be the only reason I could figure for Zechs going out of his way to make the trip arduous.

I had hoped the Morgan couldn't resist seeking out his friend, and yet, while Relena was his rider, he appeared to mostly ignore the wild horses. Then Relena switched to another horse, and without her on his back, he drifted to the tall grass. Had he waited on purpose so he wouldn't inadvertently lead her to Heero's hiding spot? It seemed to be the case.

The horses didn't like her. And I didn't like her either for interfering with my operation. She had no legitimate claims, just silly school girl notions about ownership. But in the end she was just a child who loved a horse, and I couldn't blame her for that or for worrying over his disappearance. One of these days, I'd tell her the truth, and if she was reasonable about it, maybe I'd let her visit Heero. He'd have to agree, too, of course.

Now I was treating a horse like a person!

"This is so unfair!" the girl cried out at me.

And she was irritating me. "No one asked you along," I snapped back. "You have no right to be here either."

Worse than that, she was derailing my train of thought.

I'd been tracing through the events of the last hour, the most memorable were relating to that strange pinto. I watched Duo hone in on one particular pinto. Not a pinto! How Heero got splashed with white paint, I was dying to know. Oh, I recognized the Thoroughbred by his elegant lines and fine legs. I'd been pleased to find him, but more so that Relena hadn't—of course, he'd been lying, hidden in the tall grass at that time, and Relena had switched to the Arabian's back, who usually avoided standing in grass if he could help it. In fact, not only had he avoided the grassy area, it was possible that he took her as far away from where the Morgan was going as he could. Had that been on purpose, too?

It all added up to the conclusion that the horses knew where their leader was and that they wanted that kept secret. Why Heero was with the Mustangs and why the Mustangs were allowing it was another mystery entirely- one I hoped to figure out, but I didn't think I'd do that this day.

"You're so mean!" She was still whining.

My more immediate problem was simpler: the poor little Morgan was having a difficult time parting from where he knew his friend was. I wanted to let him know that I'd seen his leader, but that Relena had not. I wanted to reassure him and I had to choose the right words and the fewest so as not to confuse him.

"Still, Zechs." When my mount quit moving about, I jumped off and strode up to Duo, who watched my every move. I put my mouth right up to his face and rubbed behind his ears until he dropped his head to my level.

"Heero's all right," I whispered. "Heero. Okay? Got that? Heero's okay."

And I swear he blinked and nodded.

I backed away and slapped his rump. "Now, go, you obstinate animal."

To which he gave me a snort and head shake, whatever that meant. In any case, he heard me say "Heero" and saw me smile, so he must have understood something, because he trotted off in the direction of the stable without another grunt.

Trowa and Quatre followed along, taking the doctors and Relena out of earshot.

"All right," I said to my handsome mount, stroking him gently on the neck. "Let's go find Heero and look over his injuries. He didn't get away from that cougar attack unscathed, I'll bet."

And when I said Heero's name, I saw his ears twitch. Yes, they were all in on some scheme to hide him out here.

When we saw him this time, it only took Zechs a few minutes to locate the right place, Heero had moved. He was standing over the older horse, one who had obvious leg damage from his cat encounter, touching noses. As the two horses made contact, I wondered what had just passed between them, because my Zechs lurched ahead, quickening his pace, and heading directly their way without my directions.

Could it be that my horses wanted to help these wild ones? How could that be possible?

**(o) Quatre's POV**

I was furious at Trowa for putting himself in such danger and immensely proud of him for his heroic actions. I wanted to kick him and love him at the same time, an embarrassing combination when I thought about it. I tried not to picture it!

It helped that waves of Trowa's feelings battered me as we galloped down the hill toward home. He felt justified and contrite and he loved me and wanted me to let him know we were going to come through all this okay. He needed encouragement from me.

"We'll be fine, Trowa," I whinnied. I could kick the dickens out of him later, in private then lick him _all_ better. Oh, dear, had I said that aloud? Naughty me…

His answering joyful whinny made me feel all shivery and happy.

Clouding the scene was the fact that I was carrying the cause of all our troubles, Miss Relena, back to the stable, where I hoped a car would run her down (oops!); that is, where a waiting automobile would whisk her away.

I wasn't sure what the outcome of this visit of hers would be. The feelings from the humans had been so confusing and difficult even to sort out. Mostly the confusion had been _theirs_, but it still muddied _my_ point of view.

Now that we were away from the center of turmoil, I could feel Duo's feelings clearly. Sharp as a shoe nail. He'd worry himself sick over Heero or die of loneliness. I'd completely forgotten him during the lion attack. All I'd been able to think out was Trowa, and now I couldn't say what Howard had been feeling when we left. No reassuring words came to mind that would make him believe Heero's life wasn't imperiled in some way, that Howard wasn't likely to discover Heero and drag him back in time to turn him over to Miss Relena.

Oh, that would be too terrible for us all to consider.

There was another reason, equally as likely for us being sent away. "Duo?"

His eye rotated my way fractionally then back to watching his footing. "What?"

"I think Howard may have had us all return, you and Trowa escorting _her_, to ensure she wouldn't stick around the wild horses and eventually see Heero."

To my surprise, he agreed. "Mebbe." A few thundering hoof beats later, Duo confided a wee bit more. "Howie whispered something to me, using Heero's name. It was a feel-good moment, so I had a hunch he knew Heero was out there and he'd be okay, which was why I left voluntarily."

"Wonderful! Let's hold onto that thought. Oh, I see Wufei and more men and the vet with the lift trailer."

Wufei saw us too and I watched Duo trot off join him, his rider having given up trying to direct Duo some time ago, I think. I was dying to know what Wufei had learned, since he had to have overheard all kinds of delicious news, but I couldn't change directions at will, because I was duty-bound and carrying Miss Relena to her car waiting on the other side of the corral. I hoped it was her car-it looked like the long, black car that brought her in the snow, all hard lines and shiny surfaces, except that this one was a shocking hue of pink.

I had a blanket that color once, but dear, sweet, Percy spoiled it. Just ripped it to shreds to make a bed, or he hated it fervently, because I don't recall seeing him sleep on it. Anyway, nothing drove me faster toward my goal than imagining her in that car disappearing into the distance.

She was met by a distinguished gentleman, who spoke harshly to her. I thought that was a very good sign, because possibly it meant she'd broken some human rule and would be punished. All he did was hasten her into the rear seat and close the door. No yelling. Then the car left and I was so relieved, but before a handler could collect me and lead me away, I hurried over to where Duo and Wufei were still talking.

"Hey, Sunshine, you won't believe what he told me."

"Please hurry and tell, before we get stabled." I could see Wufei's owner, Duo's and mine head to head in conversation while the vet and a couple strong workers loaded the van with supplies. Heero's owner was approaching from the house, so we probably had a very few minutes before something would change.

"The human, O, spoke to Relena and her uncle. Apparently, her court order wasn't real and she has no legal right to Heero. Her uncle owned him after the fire, not her, and he doesn't want Heero back, most importantly."

"Splendid! Oh, Duo that's wonderful, isn't it? No matter what, Relena is no danger to Heero. He can return home!"

"Yeah. Still, I'll believe it when I see him here in his stall again," Duo groused, apparently not letting himself get excited yet. Not that I blamed him. Sometimes it was hard not to protect myself from the sure disappointments in life, too.

Our owners wanted to go where the action was, Wufei told us. This was perfectly acceptable to me, because I particularly wanted to see Heero and find out what had happened to Treize. Duo cooperated, and Trowa naturally didn't make a fuss, but I'd expected Wufei to be a little tired of going back and forth. However, I knew he wanted to prove how "tireless" his breed could be, and, so, if he had any complaints, he suffered them in silence.

My owner, Instructor H, switched saddles and climbed onto my back, while Professor G rode Duo, Doctor S remained on Trowa, and Doctor J climbed into the horse carrier van, which we accompanied into the wild country traveling a different road, one beginning on the far side of the house.

"This was the road we'd seen trucks moving out in winter," Trowa said.

"Oh, yes! The ones delivering food to the mustangs. So thoughtful, don't you think?"

"Un, huh. And better condition than the trail we've been taking," Duo pointed out.

It didn't take us long at all to reach the canyon where the Mustangs lived.

**(0) Howard's POV**

If only I'd been able to explain how vacuous the Relena girl's threats had been, I might have been able to relieve some of the horse's worries. Hers had been merely a girlish infatuation. Her uncle had been the owner of Thoroughbred, not her, and the papers her uncle had signed over to the Horse Haven Sanctuary were in order and perfectly legal proof of our ownership. What documents she had brought with her would be put to the best use they could have—lining the Persian cat's litter box.

There wasn't much more for me to do but wait until the vet and backup arrived, so I let my horse graze where he wanted, and that took him closer to the great Mustang leader, now resting on his side. Nearby was the lead mare, guarding against the fine white horse's possible attack. I walked over to restrain Zechs, should it be necessary to protect the fallen stallion. Hierarchy and dominance played a huge role in the group structure of horses. If there was trouble, I didn't want my stallion to be a contributor.

And there was Heero, rising out of the grass and limping over. God, how I hoped he wasn't badly injured. I could make put blood splatters up and down his legs and one red streak, but nothing else that I could see.

"Heero," I called, clicking my tongue to get his attention.

His ears rotated and his one eye I could see stared into mine.

"It's all right," I said in a soothing voice. "Come here. Let me look at that leg."

He seemed torn between obeying me and getting closer to Zechs and the fallen horse, so I aimed for the horse clump as well, which seemed to work out well. Such sensitive creatures and so easy to spook.

I'd known from the start when I took the job and established the sanctuary, that many of my wild band were escapees from the wars gone feral. Anyone with an eye for horses could see that the fallen stallion, for one, had once been a fine battle horse.

"Hope we can save you," I told the brave horse. Imagine facing down a pair of mountain lions!

A warm nose slipped into my hand. Zechs was right there with me one second and then he was nuzzling the injured horse, and I swear he was nickering sweet nothings, too.

"Okay, then my silly-looking spotted Thoroughbred, let's see how you're doing. I'd sure like to know who painted you this way and how one of my staff got away with this. Your scratch is reddening fast, but doesn't feel hot yet. When the vet gets here, I'll have her treat you first so this doesn't head to an infection. Hey, don't snort at me, you ungrateful animal! This is all on account of you fellows not being satisfied with your own state-of-the-art arena that you have to be out here imposing on these poor horses."

Zechs actually licked the wild horse's face. Could it be that he was intentionally trying to cool him off?

"Nice try, old chum, but that one needs antibiotics and surgery on that leg—and soon."

A little while later, Master O galloped up bringing news that the veterinarian was right behind him.

"Good, good, now c'mon Heero, Zechs, move away and give the folks some space."

Instead, Heero stubbornly pushed right in front of me and stomped his hoof, well, pawed at the ground. He kept at it, and seemed so intense on what he was doing that I backed off and let him do what he liked.

"My horse wants you to look at the ground there," Master O said.

Yes, I could see that the Chinese horse was nosing round the scraped ground. Not just scraped. Carved. "What the hell?"

"Is that the letter '5'?" O asked. "Yes, I'm sure of it. "Five" – what does that mean?"

"Mean? What's a horse doing writing numbers in the dirt is the first question you ought to be asking!" This was exciting.

Wufei whinnied and waggled his head and then deliberately pointed at the ground again with his nose.

"What is it-? Oh, yes! Five! You, he means you?"

Wufei whinnied and dipped his chin in affirmation.

"Howard, my horse just answered us."

"I believe he did. Wufei, you understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

And the golden horse bobbed his head. I didn't know what to say to that. It was pretty awesome, so I just stood there smiling. "Well, I'll be—"

Heero nudged my elbow. "Oh, and you are writing to me?" I couldn't grasp how he could do that either, but there he was pawing at the dirt making marks I couldn't read.

"You're looking at it the wrong way. Come over here where he's standing. It says-."

"H-E-L…D." I could make out the letters okay. "Oh!" Heero snorted and kicked the ground around the last letter.

"I think he's frustrated with you," Master O said. "That's a 'P'!"

"Help? Help! You want us to help you —no, wait, _you_ want to help us?" I asked Heero and Wufei shook his head, a clear negation, and then trotted over to where Zechs stood over the injured horse. Well, that made some sense. "You want us to help this horse and … all the wild horses?"

Wufei nodded and whinnied and Heero nodded and Zechs nodded and we had communication!

Well, almost. "Do any of you talk?"

**(o) Heero's POV**

I could read human written words, but this was my first attempt at copying them. Aurgh!

So frustrating!

I couldn't shape the letters correctly. I should have practiced. I planned to practice from now on. Every day.

There! I was successful, and with Wufei's assistance we finally opened a line of communication with Howard.

"Howard said," Wufei explained, "He knows what you're saying...but it's not that simple.*'"

"I know! It's just that I want the chance. I think I can convince the wild horses to visit the barn for vet care as long as I can assure them that they'll still be free to leave afterwards."

I scratched out "Me talk horses so go vet."

This was taking forever.

"Howard says go ahead and try."

I leaned over Treize and blew air on his warm face. "I think I can get an agreement."

"Une, call the others over. Now."

I took a massive amount of courage and strength for him to move, but he sat up. I hoped I might be as great a leader some day. Une allowed a few of the more mature horses to listen as Treize convinced them to get treatment, asking them to accept care and help regardless of his possible demise, which was the fault of the cougar not of the humans, he emphasized over and over.

Noin backed off looked frantic.

"What's your problem?" I asked.

She shook her mane, looking both dispirited and agitated. "Without Treize, there's just Une, and she is, well, likely to become totally overwhelmed by his death.*"

I heard Wufei's whinny in the distance and then the sound of a human motorized vehicle coming closer.

"Don't worry. That's the human doctor for horses. The vet. If Treize can be saved, the vet will do it."

It was the vet assistant, Meg, Wufei informed me.

"Treize, this woman is good. She made Duo better and I trust her."

"That's fine. I won't fight it." The war horse let her halter him and check his leg. He had been treated by humans and wasn't unfamiliar with what to expect. He was also weak and getting weaker.

"Milliardo... I'll be waiting on the other side."*

"Nonsense, General. Now you're being over dramatic. You are not about to die. Oh, and I'll only remind you this one more time, I'm called Zechs now. Next, time I'll call you out."

Treize seemed amused by Zech's comments and to take strength from the intentional humor. "Just watch me, Heero. I am going to live...right till the bitter end! I will live the hard life of a warrior!" *

"And beyond," I added. "Can you stand? The humans need to move you into the carrier, where they can fix you."

"I see that. I'll do my best. They seem kind hearted."

"Yes, that's why it's so encouraging,*" Sally said.

"Heero, will you be staying on, then?" Noin asked.

Wufei blurted out, "No! Relena's gone away. She has no legal claim to him. He can return."

"Is that true?" I couldn't believe it.

"Yes, here come the others. You can ask them if you don't believe me."

Now, coming from him I had to believe it. I knew he'd just as soon let me rot out here in the wilderness while Zechs assumed my leadership job, if together they could defeat Duo. But this sounded as if he actually wanted me back. And I'd hurt his feelings.

"Thank you, Wufei. You are an honorable horse."

"Of course I am! That should not coma as a surprise to anyone. When I meet my ancestors at death, I shall hold my head up high."

_From your lofty pedestal as well_, I thought to myself?

Howard maneuvered the vet into my space and suddenly I felt her icy fingers pressing into sore spots and globs of goop, some stinging, spread over and bound up with gauze. Then came a shot.

In the meantime, Noin wasn't giving up on her own fantasies. "What will we do?" Her eyes glazed over and rested on Zechs. "-Unless Zechs would agree to stay on and be our champion?"

That starry-eyed look of a mare in lust was, at least, not fixed on me.

"My hooves...they're too stained with blood. But I'm sure Une alone is fit to lead the band in a manner you would approve of,*" he said.

She sighed. "He's so dreamy…"

Duo, Quatre, and Trowa arrived and the place thrummed with the chatter of humans. Although I could see my owner coming to claim me, I slipped around Trowa and Quatre to greet Duo, first. I'd learned that lesson. I wasn't going to neglect him.

"Relena's gone and can't take you," were the first words out of his mouth.

"We can stay together," were the first from mine.

We didn't have a chance to say more right then, but I made certain that we touched noses. That contact meant a great deal.

After a few minutes more of discussion, the wild horses agreed to accompany me and the other riders back to the stable for medical treatment. Most of them had once been owned by humans and, in spite of poor treatment in the past by humans, they understood and saw in us the benefits of proper care. They weren't excited about possible "shots", but each one had something they felt needing fixing. Even Une was eager to have her hooves looked after.

The doctors used us to steer the wild horses to the stables. The few actual wild pintos feared the noisy vehicle, but Une nipped at them, doing her job to keep them moving.

Howard kept the Mustangs all corralled inside the arena, while the vet and her very kind and capable assistant, Meg, treated them one by one. Treize remained in the special "sick" room where Duo had recovered from his apple bloat. We were allowed to visit and at night, Duo released Une and Noin so they could look in on him.

My understanding was that it was touch and go. His leg wounds were serious and he'd developed a fever.

But the humans had good magic that had cured Duo and soon my leg was perfectly fine.

And Treize recovered. He'd limp until the scar tissue healed completely, was what I understood. Wufei explained that he might need to return for a "check up".

The wild horses stayed a few weeks, Trowa told me. It didn't feel all that long but the weather had changed, the color showing in the trees. There was a tentative agreement for the wild herd to return with the first snow and stay the winter indoors. Most of them seemed grateful for the treatment and food, but when Treize was able and called them to action, they left,

_disappearing into the mists from which they were born._

**And that was The Atmospheric Ending.**

**But there's more to come in the next chapter!**

* Quotes or paraphrasing taken from the original series


	22. Chapter 22

**Horse Tales**

Summary: A few lucky purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.

Warning: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning.

A/N: I'm eternally grateful to all my readers' valuable and kind feedback and to Waterlily and Snowdragon for their editing and encouragement

**Chapter Twenty-Two— The Other Endings**

**(0) Duo's POV**

Heero is a great horse and all but he is in no way a great story-teller. He left out all kinds of things thinking he could get the final word in and be done with it. Or he knew I'd step up to the task of doing it myself, since I'd been his stand-in for little more than a day. Anyway, while old Treize was re-cooperating and his herd was bolstering their nutrition on our rations, pretty much making themselves at home in our arena, indoors and out, there was more going on with our little band of stallions. Here's how it went down for real.

We all got back and roughly settled in with about twenty extra horses milling about. It took Howard about an eye blink to cull us stallions from the wild ones and lock us in the barn. He seemed most concerned for the mares.

"Foolish waste of energy," Goldie muttered as he was forced to move with more zeal than he felt, I guessed. As true as what he'd said was, I think he just said it because he still liked to gripe a lot.

Alone in our barn, I felt it was time to get our house in order. "Okay here's where I officially pass over the reins, heh, heh, and return the leadership to Heero. No objections, right?"

"Not from me, no offense," Spot, his mane in a rare loose muss, said with a wink, but not aimed at me. He was targeting his pretty little ray of Sunshine.

"None taken." I said, not that he was paying attention.

"It's so goo-od to have you back as our leader, Heero." Sunshine garbled most of that because his face was buried in Spot's mane, easing it loose from the few remaining braids. My guess being that earlier he yanked most of the ties out for fun, or something.

Heero gave them both a chin dip acknowledging their solidarity, probably. "Thank you, Quatre."

There was a reason for those two being so goofy, gooey-eyed, and inattentive. They hadn't had any _alone _time lately and it made them…frisky.

"You know what Wufei overheard that Relena person say to Howard?" Sunshine asked in a breathy sort of voice.

Spot limited himself to a shiver for "no".

"I need spurs and a whip to really get him going."

Spot moaned a guttural, "Ooh, yeah."

This response seemed to delight Sunshine, who went on in like vein, "And Howard said, 'Put some excitement between your legs, ride a horse.'**" Then he whickered and Spot whickered.

_Barf!_

Spot smoothed his nose all over Sunshine's back. It was kinda mesmerizing watching it. "You remember saying how you couldn't decide whether to love me or kick me?"

"Mmm, hmmm."

Accidently I looked Spot in the face just as turned back his lips, showing his large teeth and making his voice sound all husky. "Why not do both, honey?"

"Can we?"

"Ah, shucks. Your nice ribbons are all gone, though."

"Oooh, and maybe we can hunt through the leather harnesses for some bonding fun?"

_Ah, geez… _

And then they started in on the really graphic stuff with globs of sugar-coating. That was quite enough romance-talk, _their _kind, for me.

I turned away so I could ignore them and focused on the other two, the silent pair, conspicuous by their absence in the conversation. Distracted by things as I was, I hadn't missed how Goldie and The Count hadn't checked in, how they were whispering secrets and not participating, and nor had Heero, I figured.

Heero's glare darkened in their direction. "Wufei, stand down. This is between Zechs and me," Heero ground out between clenched teeth.

I didn't get it. Wufei had been really nice and supportive to me while Heero'd been gone. But now I could feel things weren't right.

"Zechs." Heero said his name, but added a threatening stance and toss of his head.

Not good at all. "I guess we're heading into a showdown, pardner," I said half joking.

But Heero wasn't in a joking mood. "Yes," I heard him mutter just as his body tensed for action.

Whoa, horsies! Zechs moved first, lightening fast. He reared back on those really muscular haunches of his and lashed out high into the air with his front hooves. "Watch out, 'Ro! He means business! You picked the wrong stallion to mess with, Count!"

Yeah, I was like a one-horse cheer squad for Heero. The others stood back, preferring to watch quietly, for some reason. Well, you didn't want to get in the middle of a fight for dominance if you were smart, but where were Sunshine's pleas for sanity and peace? Well, I could answer my own question there. He was lost in dreams of leather bindings and soft slithery silks—with soppy spots.

Heero landed a swift kick, which was returned.

"You hurt him!" I whinnied and made a leap of my own. I might have made it into the fray, but for Spot's polka-dotted butt in my face and Sunshine's grip to my neck.

"Stay put," Spot said.

Sunshine added emphasis with a bit more tooth.

"All right! Lemme go."

The fracas had continued while I had my own little power struggle, which I lost, but I hadn't really been trying, and they knew it.

"Step aside," Heero ordered the big white stallion.

And then I noticed Goldie hoofing it away from the doorway. When had he left? How had he reappeared so quickly? What this the evil vampire possessors of translational movement phenomena, eh? Damn them anyway. There he was swishing about, wanting to say something, and The Count and Heero actually stopped their posing, postponing their dominance play, so he could interrupt.

"I found them fornicating in _my_ stall," was his announcement.

Heero's fur bristled. "Another… cat!"

"Girl cat," Spot informed us, although even I could have pieced together that puzzle.

Goldie snorted whereas the rest of us just let his statement of the obvious pass. "There had better not be any kittens showing up in my stall!"

"Or mine!" Heero added unnecessarily. Percy knew where he was most unwanted. "That's how you get rats."

Er, no, 'Ro. Rats weren't kittens. Spot and Sunshine looked a little wall-eyed, but no one dared try to correct him.

Heero must have collected inspiration from this because he elaborated on his rhyme theme. "Some fly. Bats."

And the very tiny ones are gnats .*** Ugh. Change of subject time.

"Where did she come from?" I asked of the gray striped female cat being attended by Percy.

Zechs replied, sounding as if he was at the bottom of a bucket, kinda low and resonant. "I _found_ her."

Really? "Okay, Count Cat-ula, where do you find another cat? I was sure this place was cat-free, except for Percy."

"It **was**," Heero stated with the utmost certainty.

"Oh, I have my ways," The Count said purposely being slippery as a loose cinch. "Night ways. We creatures of the dark find one another sooner or later."

Then he pealed back his lips in such a way that his teeth shone but didn't reveal the fangs, and I knew he was pulling my leg; I'd get no real answer out of him this day. And it was too late to warn Percy that his missus was of the vampire breed. He was one of them by now. Their numbers were growing-

"Make them go away." Heero said, and being rather stubborn about wanting to get his way, like Goldie, a shared flaw of theirs, he lunged at the cat pair, scattering the cats to the far ends of the barn and diffusing my thoughts out the wired-covered air vents.

This sent Sunshine all aflutter on his "save the cats" mission. It was amusing to watch him chase after the cats trying to tell them they'd be safe with him when it was obvious that he could stomp them to smithereens in a hoofbeat. I was so consumed by the show, that I almost missed another little drama acting out between Heero and The Count.

I just caught The Count saying to him, "You think you can return and have things just as they were before you left?"

"Yes." Heero moved in closer and pitched his voice low enough that we couldn't hear, but I struggled closer and heard, "You promised this would be temporary."

"Oh, it is, I mean I mean it to be, but, well, I'd like a little more show, just for Wufei."

So, all that fight for dominance had just been for show? Not real? Well, I for one had had enough.

"Game over!" I announced. "No more getting hot and bothered for nothing. I wanna go back to my stall. You coming, 'Ro?"

"Hmmm, hot you are. Heero, you'd better jump him while you have a chance," the big white stallion said by way of a warning him that if 'Ro didn't, he would. It was just an educated guess on my part, though.

Was that all for Goldie, too? He looked pretty angry, and I didn't blame him. I didn't want nobody making a move on me, or even threatening to.

"Back off," was all my 'Ro had to say, that combined with a possessive jostling of me away from the vampire that itself said, "He's _mine_, _my_ dark horse. And he doesn't know what you're talking about. He just wants to go eat."

"Hey, you can _all_ hold your horses! I'm standin' here, you know, on my own four legs, and, 'Ro, I really do get the sexual connotations of what he just said. I'm not stupid." Not any longer.

He looked me in the eye in that deadly serious way of his that made everybody do what he said and made my legs go wobbly now. "Let's go."

"Okay." I even let him push and shove me out into the hall to the stalls, just a little. He seemed pretty worked up.

"Hey," Heero nudged me a little until I touched noses.

"Hey."

"I'm here."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that."

"I'm here and I love you no matter what."

"Me, too." Aw, that made me paw at the ground. I couldn't look him in the eye.

"I like your, ah, hair."

There was more than enough of it that was for sure. I was about to say the same to him, but when I looked up and saw he appeared so earnest and hopeful and his mane was a mess and the spots of white paint hadn't washed off (what _had_ we used?) so he had a rakish sort of wild look about him, I knew I had to be sincere. I liked that look. I liked him. Correction. I loved him and I wanted him to stay by my side, never leave, and love me forever.

"I like how brave you are," I decided to tell him. "Like when you stood up to the cougars… and tried to blend in with the Mustangs… and… all." What all was I babbling about? "Like with thunder and everything-" Now I was chattering nineteen to the dozen like an idiot, which Spot had told me meant far too much.

His eyes blazed out from under the shaggy forelock and his lips parted and his long tongue flipped out and tickled my cheek until I shivered. The tongue disappeared and he nuzzled my ears. "Not as brave as you. You had to walk away and trust me and take my place as leader."

"Aw, that was nothing, um; that is… you had it all set up for me ahead of time and it wasn't for long at all and everyone was great and got along."

He nudged me. "Oh, Duo… when you grow up I'm going to be hard put keeping you in your place as number two."

"No, you won't. I am happy where I am, thank you. No going over the top for me, er; I mean, going for the leader job." And you can wipe off that smug expression, 'Ro. It was just a slip of the tongue. "You know what I mean."

"I understand you don't want to take my position?"

I was not going to fall into that semantic trap and ask 'what position do you mean?'. I'd picked up on plenty of sexual innuendo from listening in on Spot and Sunshine's dilly-dallying.

"You can have it. And I _am_ grown up, well, nearly. I _feel_ grown up."

"_Do_ you?"

Again, that hopeful note. His question was loaded with hope.

I leaned into him and shared heat. I felt his heart pounding against his ribs, which in turn pounded against mine, and that made my heart speed up. Then my lips went dry. My whole mouth went straw dry.

Heero prodded me with his nose. "I'd offer you a rose, but someone fenced them off."

"I don't need bribes, but thanks just the same."

"Duo, you know I'm willing to risk everything to make you happy with me. And wait for you to catch up."

"You shouldn't excite yourself," I told him, with a return shove with his hindquarters. "You're still injured." He'd been given shots and stuff and I could see he favored the one leg a little.

"_I'm_ not exciting me."

"Heh, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Just fine."

"Well, in that case, come along. I think I've done nearly all the catching up I'm gonna do."

"Y-you mean that?" he stuttered. "I mean, did you mean to say—?"

I lifted my tail in what I thought might be an enticing gesture and he lunged at me. "Ugh!"

"Sorry. Excited. Very."

"Ah, well, that's all right, but, um, I can't actually carry you all the way to my stall."

He climbed off my back, panting. "Right. Right! Okay. Let's walk. Quickly."

And quickly we went.

And it wasn't so bad after all, what he'd been trying to do for so long.

And it improved by the second and third try. I understood where the "thorough" in "Thoroughbred' came from now.

I didn't see sunbeams and sparkles, like Sunshine promised, or hear funny music in the background, like Spot said he'd heard—calliope, whatever that was- but I definitely felt connected, both literally and mentally, with Heero. That was good enough for me. Real good.

I felt sticky and sore and made a mess of my own on floor.

Heero kicked some straw over it. "That's normal. Thank you for letting me make you mine. I-I love you, you know."

"Love you, too, 'Ro."

Our tails swished together in time with our heart beats, sorta, and I drank some water, sharing the trough with him.

"So, the others, think they'll know? About… us?" I was curious.

"Yes." He was certain, which is why he was the leader.

"Oh, yeah? How can you be so sure of that? Do I look that different or something? A big bruise on my ass saying 'Heero was here'?"

"No. I'll tell them."

"You… will?"

"You, I'm proud of winning above all else."

Now, that was romantic!

**That was the Romantic End.**

There's one more. The Bollywood favored one…

**(o) Wufei's POV**

While Duo and Heero sauntered one way, and Trowa and Quatre the other, Zechs and I were left with the entire barn to ourselves. Plenty of room to spread out or kick up one's heels.

"I thought what you said to Treize when he left was…" I replaced my first word choice "noble" with a more delicate one, "…gracious. I felt very proud."

"He'd wished me well. He was happy with his herd and satisfied with his position and attentive mares. He _only_ wished me well, you know."

"I heard." I twitched my ears. "You told him you'd found you heart's content and purpose."

"And you know I meant you, do you not?"

"I had aspirations; it was a fine prospect." I felt him search my face for deeper understanding, or sympathy, I supposed.

"A very fine prospect. You saved my soul. I was lost, without hope, my purpose questionable. I found my mind wandering aimless—"

I had to stop that talk. He was so predisposed to brooding, and, as attractive as that might be, I wanted to hear more on the topic of _me_.

"But no longer?" I prompted him.

"No. When I met you, the sun gilt the hillsides and melted my heart."

_Much better_**.**

See, he meant the world to me, too. I wanted to hear him tell me I was his most cherished treasure.

"You share with me your body, which is my most treasured possession. Something I shall cherish forever—"

That was the "ticket" as Duo would say, drat his commonplace idioms adhering to my mind.

"Cherish me now?" I asked, not begged.

And things got steamy in his stall after that.

We'd hardly had a chance to cool down with a fresh pail of water, when humans intervened. They shooed all us horses outside to clean the stable and barn, ending our tryst, and, from the looks of things, inconveniencing everyone else.

Especially Heero, who just glowed "I did it!" all over the place.

We were still cloistered apart from the wild horses and had little to do but stand and stare off into the distance. Then I had a thought.

"I know you can be a leader again, if the need arose."

"I don't think so," he began to argue.

So I used a trick of Quatre's- I could learn tricks, too—and tilted my head just so, making my eyes sparkle as if lit with tiny stars. "I have an idea even Heero might agree to."

"Will I like this idea?" Zechs asked.

"Certainly." Wufei whinnied, interrupting Heero and Duo's conversation. "Heero, I would like Zechs to show us some of his dance steps—"

"And we could all follow along!" Quatre chortled, dragging Trowa over by a leather strap wrapped around his neck. "And Trowa can teach us a few of his!"

This wasn't what I had in mind. I'd envisioned it being just Zechs leading us all, but Heero was nodding his head so there was no going back.

"What do you envision the rest of us doing?" Heero asked.

"You could just copy what I do."

"Show them, Zechs."

Quatre gave Trowa a little tush push to the forefront. "Go on. Stand in front where we can see your hooves. Come on, Duo. You can stand between me and Heero. Oh, this will be fun! Where do we start?"

I trotted in line beside Heero. "You once named the steps for us…beginning with peas."

"You are referring to the three "P" level movements."

"Yes, those."

"All right. Trowa, would you count out loud to this tempo, please?"

Zechs demonstrated the _piaffe_, and we all trotted in place. With a few minutes practice, we could keep in perfect cadence and rhythm.

"Now to the left and slow- the _passage—_keep it slow, like you're in slow motion and floating."

We marched to the left and then to the right and then in a circle, until we could do it together. I was impressed at how quickly Trowa and Quatre picked it up and humbled. I was clumsy as a colt. But I improved and found it wasn't so difficult to perform the faster, cantering _pirouettes._

Duo couldn't keep up, so he and Heero were making up their own dance, but it fit into the general pattern and rhythm well enough.

With a little more persuasion from his ardent lover, Trowa directed us in a few steps and bows, working them into a sort of routine with Zechs' steps. The two of them put their heads together for a few minutes and then Trowa moved back into line, leaving Zechs alone to face us.

"Well, try this …Starting to the right, step one, two, three, four, bow, and circle slow and floaty-"

It was a remarkable feeling, being a part of a moving team of horses, synchronized in our steps, dancing. We were dancing together on the rise overlooking the outdoor arena as the sun was setting.

**(o) Howard POV**

I headed back to the house. What I needed was a glass of wine and to put my feet up.

"Mr. Howard, sir!"

I nearly stepped up the pace and dashed away, but, well, never knew what the hands had to report. "Better be important."

"I'm not sure but… well, you can see for yourself. Up there!"

I saw my horses silhouetted against the colorful sky. In a line. Moving around.

"I think, sir, that they are imitating the large white horse. I've read about that as a part of herd behavior. You think I'm right?"

I observed the prancing horses, trying to see them as just animals acting out of some instinctual herd pattern of behavior, but what I saw were six remarkable horses line dancing.

"What, sir?"

"Line dancing. I call'em as I see'em. Good night, now. Don't let them stay out too long in the dark and see to it they get extra rations. They're burning extra calories tonight."

Let him make of that what he will. He hadn't commented on the Mustangs when they had left, trotting into the fog. What I really wanted to know, but was afraid to ask, was how the wild horses had come by Quatre's silk ribbons?

I wasn't afraid to ask. I was afraid of the answer.

**And this was The Real Finale End.**

* Quotes or paraphrasing taken from the original series

** Not my joke, but I don't know who passed it on to me, but thanks.

*** credit goes to Waterlily for this line

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked the story.-KS


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